A SOUTHAMPTON family has told how a happy holiday in Spain turned to horror when their six-month-old son fell ill and a hospital had no doctor to treat him.

Little Connor Clark was struck down with food poisoning while his family enjoyed a break at Los Christianos on the island of Tenerife.

Relaxation turned to nightmare as concerned Spanish doctors raced the youngster to hospital.

But once there, the family was charged £90 for the ambulance, a further £50 for an ultrasound scan and then found there was no child doctor on site to treat him.

The situation got worse when none of the staff would insert a vital drip into the ailing baby because they were not qualified and could not find a vein, says mum Joanna Tudor, 23.

When they managed it, Connor's father Stuart Clark had to stay with him all night to hold it in place because it did not fit.

Joanna said: "Connor was sick and had diarrhoea so he had lost a lot of weight. We were panic-stricken."

The crisis meant the Sholing family had to stay to give Connor round-the-clock care, which the mainly auxiliary nurses at the hospital could not provide. Their insurance company, Europe Assistance, would only pay for one parent, leaving the family to fork out for a hotel and another flight home, says Joanne.

Joanne is angry. "The hospital was just terrible but they did their best. The insurance company was absolutely disgraceful."

A spokeswoman for Europe Assistance said they had not received an official complaint from the family but she believed the company had gone out of its way to help.