A SOUTHAMPTON family aboard the virus-hit luxury liner Aurora spoke today of their £10,000 "holiday from hell".

City forestry contractor Paul Brammer, 34, branded the £200m vessel a "prison boat", after being trapped on board when Greek officials refused to let passengers disembark because of the rampant norovirus.

Together with wife Nicky, 32, and their two teenage children, they had expected the holiday of a lifetime before the virus, which causes chronic diarrhoea and vomiting, struck down more than 500 passengers.

Mr Brammer, a forestry contractor from Southampton, said: "The last few days have been like a holiday from hell. It's been like living in a hospital environment.

"We thought it would be a holiday of a lifetime but it's not like that at all. We can taste chemicals on our tongues all the time. It's coming through the air conditioning because they're cleaning everywhere on the ship.

"They have obviously got a big problem."

Mr Brammer said only his daughter had been ill but he took his son to a ship's doctor after he had breathed in some of the chemicals being used to sanitise the ship.

"The doctor said to me, 'You look like the sort of bloke that would write letters'. I was infuriated. I asked what was in the chemicals and he told me to look it up on the Internet.

"I think I'm entitled to know what we are breathing in. We picked the label off one container to find out what the chemicals were and ship staff came round. There was a massive hoo-ha."

Mr Brammer, who spent £4,000 on the cruise and £6,000 while on board, added: "I don't know if I can be bothered with the hassle of asking for a refund."