Veteran says Premier Inn worse than a ‘war zone’ after 100 bed bug bites

An army veteran has called Premier Inn more ‘squalid’ than warzones after being ‘eaten alive by 100 bed bug bites’ during an overnight stay.

Furious Scott Simpson also said it was ‘disgusting’ that the hotel chain had taken two and a half weeks to formally respond to his complaint.

Scott had checked-in for an overnight stay in a £69 double room at the budget chain hotel in Herne Bay, Kent, during a work trip last month.

After he woke up the next day, he saw over 100 tiny bite marks all over his body where the microscopic beasties had chomped down on his flesh.

The dad-of-two says a pharmacist confirmed the red welts in small clusters appeared to be bedbug bites.

Three weeks on from his visit on November 27th, 43-year-old Scott said most of the bites have faded but he has been left with some lingering painful spots.

Premier Inn have apologised to Scott after independent investigations confirmed ‘traces of infestations’ and offered him £75 worth of leisure vouchers.

Scott, from Rainham, Kent, said: ‘I’ve served three tours of war-torn Bosnia from 1994 to 1998 and I’ve never had to sleep in such squalid conditions.

‘Bosnia and Sarajevo in ’94 and ’95 was absolutely disgusting but I wasn’t eaten alive in my own bed.

‘The bites were painful and still are. They were 100 of them all over my body all the way from my toes to my face.’

Scott checked out of the ‘clean-looking’ room at 6am the following day, November 28^th, but claims his back soon felt irritated and itchy – before discovering inflamed red welts across his back.

He says he rushed to the pharmacy to buy anti-allergy medication and then went home, stripped off, threw his clothes in a hot wash before scrubbing himself in the shower.

Scott said: ‘I ended up taking my jacket and jumper off because my back was so itchy.

‘One of the other lads took a picture of my back and said I’d been bitten all over.

‘It wasn’t until then I realised it wasn’t just one bite – then I started getting itchy on my legs, knees, torso – all the way from my toes to my hands and my face.’

He described the ‘itching as quite ferocious’, saying that the group of ‘13 bites’ on his ankle were the worst.

He added: ‘When I put my hands on the bites they were really hot, it was like my body was fighting off some sort of infection.’

In response to Scott’s complaint that he had been bitten by bed bugs, Premier Inn told him that after an independent investigation was conducted, they could confirm ‘there were traces of infestation’ in the room.

The message to Scott stated: ‘I can confirm this has been thoroughly investigated by the Hotel Management Team and that an external hygiene company were also called out to the property to carry out a full assessment.

‘Unfortunately, we can confirm that on this occasion, there were traces of infestation in your room.’

A Premier Inn spokesman said: ‘Unfortunately on rare occasions things can go wrong and in this instance, Mr Simpson’s experience fell short of the high standards our guests can rightly expect.

‘We have refunded the cost of the room and offered leisure vouchers by means of apology. The room was immediately taken off sale upon receiving the complaint and the issue is now fully resolved.’