Unfamiliar with international travel requirements and wanting to ensure a stress-free break after the recent family tragedy, Mrs Payne went to travel and leisure giant Thomas Cook in City Square.

She told staff the reason for the holiday and explained the family didn’t have passports but was assured that, if she filled in the forms, the passports would be with her in two weeks so she could safely book her holiday and buy Euros there and then.

However, with the July 7 departure date looming and no passports, Mrs Payne contacted Thomas Cook and then the Passport Office in a panic — and that was when the dream turned into a nightmare.

“I’d just lost my husband after a long illness and was feeling really quite vulnerable,” Mrs Payne said.

“I’d never been overseas before or booked a holiday so I wanted to do everything right — that’s why I went to a travel agent to get expert advice.

“The girl assured me it would only take two weeks for the passports to come and they would definitely be ready in time. She also said I should buy Euros while I was there because they were running a special on them.

“I just felt like I was completely misled.”

Passport Office staff told Mrs Payne that because she was aged over 16 years and had never owned a passport, she would need to come in for an identity interview — a process that takes an average of five to six weeks.

Mrs Payne approached Thomas Cook with her predicament only to be told it was her responsibility and if she changed the departure date she would lose around half her money.

“There is no way I would have spent £1800 if I had had any inclination that we could not go,” she said.

“I wouldn’t have minded losing a couple hundred quid on a date change, even though it’s not my fault, but not half.

“It’s just like selling someone a car knowing they don’t have a driver’s license.

“They were well aware of my family’s situation — I put that across quite clearly.

“My family has been through enough recently and I just wanted to take my boys on a nice holiday.”

That’s when the Tele took up the family’s case.

When contacted by us, a Passport Office spokesman confirmed there was no way Mrs Payne could be issued with a passport in time for her holiday.

He said, “You now have to attend an identity interview if it is your first passport and you are aged 16 years or older.

“That process takes an average of five to six weeks, but that timeframe is not guaranteed.

“The purpose of the interview is to confirm the candidate’s identity because it is so much easier to commit identity fraud these days, and the interview process makes it much harder for fraudsters to get away with this.

“We advise everyone not to book any travel unless they have a current valid passport and anyone who ignores that advice does so at their own peril.”

With all hope lost, Mrs Payne contacted the Tele — and at the 11th hour Thomas Cook came good, offering a full refund.

A Thomas Cook spokesman said, “We are going to refund the full amount because we should have made the requirements regarding essential travel documents clearer.”

When we broke the good news to Mrs Payne she broke down in tears and said, “I can’t thank you enough.

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

The family now intend to organise another summer holiday as soon as their passports arrive.

The Thomas Cook spokesperson said, “We’d like to apologise to Mrs Payne for the confusion caused by the advice given regarding passports and as a result we are refunding the holiday in full.

“We would always advise that holidaymakers have a passport before they book a holiday and first time applicants need to leave several weeks for their application to be processed.

“Although this information is contained in documents that were given at the time of booking, in this case we should have made this clearer.

“More information on how to apply for passports and visa requirements for your chosen destination can be obtained from the Government website www.ips.gov.uk"