A £37,000 dream wedding turned into a nightmare after the bride, groom and guests were struck down by a sickness bug in the Dominican Republic.

Jacqueline and Nicholas Gair, from Benfleet, were staying at the Gran Bahia Principe hotel, in Punta Cana, with their three children and 38 friends and family, when they were hit by a parasite called Giardia.

More than 30 of the party were affected by the bug, which causes severe stomach cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting, headaches and nausea for up to six months.

It can lead to permanent health problems and is spread through contaminated food or water.

The Gran Bahia Principe is a sister hotel of the Bahia Principe, in San Juan, where more than 300 holidaymakers have been hit by a similar bug.

The couple managed to make it through the ceremony, but bridesmaid Nicola Hamilton, 26, was so ill she had to be carried back to her room.

Mrs Gair, 39, is now back home in Kents Hill Road, Benfleet, with her husband Nicholas, 36, and their children Sydney, 11, Maisie, six, and baby Albert, nine months.

She said: "It is still so sad to think what should have been such a beautiful time for everyone was ruined by how ill we all were.

"We thought by booking a five-star hotel we would avoid problems like this - we were sadly mistaken."

Among those struck down included the groom's sister, Suzanne Gair, 39, of Queensmere, Benfleet, who is still off work recovering, a month after the wedding.

Miss Gair, who spent time in Southend Hospital, said: "I spent most of the trip in bed, but managed to make it to the ceremony."

She believes the hotel's pool was the source of the outbreak.

She said: "I felt ill after swimming in the pool. I have pictures and you can clearly see the algae, but you couldn't see it when you were in the water with people splashing around."

Travel law firm, Irwin Mitchell, are representing more than 350 clients who became ill while staying at the two hotels, including the Gairs and their guests.

Firm spokesman Clive Garner said: "The hotel owners and the tour operators have questions to answer.

"Not least, why the decision to stop sending guests to the Bahia Principe, in San Juan, was only taken on August 8, when there had been widespread reports of illness among guests in June and July."