A Suffolk couple's dream holiday to Egypt has turned out to be a �1,500 nightmare.

Mick and Ollie Fuller from Lowestoft have cancelled a trip to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary because of the violent unrest in the African country.

The Fullers were due to fly out on March 2 to enjoy a tranquil Nile cruise from Luxor and a three day stay in Cairo.

However the couple have been left �1,500 out of pocket after they cancelled their holiday due to the political turmoil in Egypt which has claimed 300 lives.

Because the Fullers, who live in Minden Road, cancelled their trip they have forfeited 50pc of the �3,000 they paid for the holiday of their lives.

They booked a seven day cruise on the Nile and three nights in Cairo through travel agent chain Thomson.

The Fullers had been saving up for their Egypt holiday for two and a half years.

After losing �1,500 they have now booked a romantic break to the less exotic

climes of Cotswold later in the year.

Thomson say the couple would have got a full refund if their trip to Egypt happened before a cut off date of February 16.

But the Fullers are still angry over the way they claim to have been treated by Thomson.

The couple say they had been told by a travel advisor they could switch their holiday to another foreign location, subject to a new booking fee of up to �50.

They had started to look at going on holiday to Mexico instead of Egypt to celebrate 30 years of married bliss.

However the Fullers say they were then told last Wednesday that they could not

make any changes and would only get a 50pc re-fund.

The Fullers also query why Thomson had told them it was still safe to fly to Egypt despite the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advising people only to travel to Cairo, Luxor, Alexandria and Suez unless it is essential.

Mrs Fuller, 52 and who cares for her aunt, said: 'This was a dream holiday for us. We have never been to Egypt before and we were so looking forward to it.

'When we saw what was happening in Egypt we thought there is no way that is going to blow over in time for our holiday.

'We just thought after what we have seen on television there is no way we were going over there. It was too dangerous.

'We felt we had no option but to cancel and salvage only 50pc of our holiday costs rather than risk flying into war zone.'

Mr Fuller, 52 who works for offshore company Petromac, said: 'There was no way we were going to fly into what looked like a war zone.

'There must be many others like us who have had their holiday plans ruined.'

The political unrest in Egypt has lasted for more than two weeks. It was sparked by thousands of people protesting over the regime of President Hosni Mubarak and calling for political reforms.

Yesterday the Foreign Office was still advising British nationals to leave the country, which has been placed under a curfew.

Thomson said anyone who had booked a holiday to Egypt and was going before February 16 would be offered the chance to re-book or have a full refund.

A spokesman for the company also said it would not send customers to Cairo or Luxor in the light of government safety advice.