Two Dundee families, who recently returned from the resort, have been affected, plus families in Fife who were also in Marmaris.

Mr Sari said, “When we had the first complaint I carried out tests on the water in the pool and in the building.

“We also checked the kitchen area and every single thing in the kitchen has been certified clean.

“All my rooms are checked daily and thoroughly cleaned. There have been no other complaints from any other guests.

“When this family were here they were going to other restaurants around here.

“We served over 1000 guests from the start of the season and I am unhappy with the news because that family never came to myself or any member of staff when they first became ill or asked to seek medical attention.”

Brighton-based Holidays 4U, which would normally have around 100 people staying at the Club Orient Apartments, say they have ordered health checks from independent government officials and are satisfied with the standard of cleanliness at the hotel.

Debbie Bertie (33), of Douglas, in Dundee, has tested positive for e.coli and her family is having further checks.

Her friend Mandy Bruce and her family are still awaiting the results of tests after Mrs Bruce’s youngest son was given the all-clear by doctors at the weekend.

Karen Vyse, managing director of Holidays 4U, said her company had received only three reports of people affected. “One of those was the Bertie family, one was the Bruce family and there was one other,” she said. “I think Mrs Bertie is the only one who has tested positive.

“We obviously try to maintain a high standard of cleanliness and hygiene at the properties we use. We don’t want anybody going away on holiday and having a bad time, it’s not good business obviously.

“We have operated with this resort for four years and in that time we would have had thousands of people staying there, and have received fewer than 20 complaints, which you would expect at any property.

“While it doesn’t make it any better for the people who have been affected by this, it is a very isolated incident.

“It’s a very difficult thing to investigate because there were no illnesses at the hotel before those parties were there and there are none now. They refused to see a doctor in the resort so it is very difficult to ascertain what caused it.

“After the first reports the pool and the water at the hotel were tested on three occasions and they were clear. We called in an outside investigator from a government lab and it was found to be clear.

“I don’t think the pool is connected to the illness at all because normally e.coli is found in food which has been incorrectly prepared and these apartments are self-catering.

“I know the families would have been eating in our snack bar, but they would also have been eating outside the resort, which makes it very difficult to trace.

“We are obviously very concerned about it and our reps have been visiting every day to ensure we’re on top of the situation. We have also been in touch with our local public health department to see if there’s anything else we should be doing.”