ARMED guards tried to force a family to stay in hospital during the ultimate holiday from hell, it is claimed.

A family from Wickford spoke out after their dream trip to the Dominican Republic turned into a nightmare as their children contracted salmonella and were “deliberately” kept in hospital for “profit”.

Billie Baker, 30, her partner Reiss Monksfield, 30 booked with TUI and had been at The Sunscape and Spa Resort for a day with Sienna, five, Karis, nine and Tommy, 12 when two of the children were taken to hospital with high temperatures and diarrhoea.

Billie said: “After arriving it was clear the priority for them was the cost of the medical bill. After 36 hours of IV fluids and medication, they weren’t getting any better.

"They hadn’t eaten for three days, couldn’t keep fluids down and both began to vomit blood and had blood in their pond water-like stools. Our youngest daughter couldn’t walk, talk or even hold her head up, and it was at this point we started to question the doctors and nurses.”

When Billie and Reiss tried to leave, they were told they couldn’t and armed security guarded all the exits.

"The couple contacted The British Embassy and eventually the couple’s insurance company sent two ambulances to take them to another hospital, where a diagnosis of salmonella was confirmed.

Billie said: “A TUI rep visited us in hospital but shrugged the whole thing off. We had to pay for our flights to leave a week early and they tried to make us sign a blank form which we refused.

"We have followed their complaints procedure but aren’t getting anywhere with them. We have all suffered so much, my middle daughter has been having nightmares. It really was the holiday from hell, and was like living a real life horror film.”

A spokesman for TUI said: “We are very sorry to hear Miss Baker’s family were unwell. We are investigating and will be in contact with the customer directly. We regularly audit all of the hotels we feature in respect of health and safety, including hygiene.”