A MUM and daughter who scrimped and saved to pay for the holiday of their dreams received just £26 back from their cancelled trip.

Sun Island Holidays were forced to cancel their long-awaited holiday to Jersey, due to take place this week, after holiday fund treasurer Michael Tester failed to pay for it.

Dawn Leary, 48, and her 84-year-old mum, had been planning their holiday for the past year. They had already started packing when they received a letter from the company to say the trip had been cancelled, just two weeks before they were due to leave on Monday.

Ms Leary, of Barons Wood, Colchester, said: “We were totally devastated.

“This was a dream holiday for us and my mum can’t fly anymore because of her age.

“We were so looking forward to it and it broke my mum’s heart.

“She’s not been well and even her doctor said a holiday would do her the world of good.

“The trust has been broken and my mum really trusted Mr Tester, which is the worst thing about it.”

Staying in the Hotel Ambassadeur, on the island, the pair had planned every last detail of their trip, from picnics to go on, to their arrival home on Saturday.

Although Mr Tester paid the £3,050 deposit to Sun Island Holidays, he failed to pay the remaining balance of £5,842 to the company, which was then forced to cancel the trip.

The company then had to pay £2,070 back to its agents in the Channel Islands, leaving £980.

By the time the postage had been paid for the recorded delivery letters to each of the 36 would-be holidaymakers, there was a remaining balance of £936, which was divided between each disappointed customer, leaving only £26 from the £245 they had originally paid.