ROMANTIC Peter Harrison’s plan to surprise his fiancee with a special holiday is in tatters – after a travel agent went broke 48 hours after he booked the trip.

Colchester care worker Peter booked a holiday in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, as a treat for him and partner Susan Lovell.

Online travel firm Holiday Direct took £601 from his bank for the holiday and two days later Peter’s confirmation letter arrived – with a second letter clipped to it to say the company had gone into liquidation.

It was an extra blow for Peter, 60, of Forest Road, Greenstead, who he has been off work for the past eight weeks with a bad knee and no longer qualifies for sick pay.

He said: “What really annoyed me was the confirmation letter.

“On one page it was saying everything was sorted, then at the back of the bundle was this note saying ‘we regret to inform you Holiday Direct has gone into liquidation’.

“I rang the bank straight away, but the money had gone out.”

Peter, who works at a care home in Halstead, added: “I decided to book the holiday because I turned 60 in June and I started getting a bit of pension from when I worked in the NHS.

“Now I can’t work and I’m not earning “I’m wishing I hadn’t bothered.”

The company took £241 for the couple’s accommodation and £360 for their Easyjet flights, arranged as part of the package.

The couple have been told they can still fly if they want, but will have nowhere to stay in Egypt unless they book and pay for another hotel.

Mr Harrison and Ms Lovell, 44, from Haverhill, Suffolk, have yet to learn if there is any chance of a refund from Holiday Direct. A notice on the Southampton-based firm’s website says: “We regret to inform you Holiday Direct has ceased trading and is in liquidation.

“Our appointed representative, Geoff Jarrett at Hills Jarrett, will contact all creditors within seven days..”

When contacted, Mr Jarrett would only say: “Passenger creditors who have a holiday booked should make a claim through the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing website.”