A HOLIDAYMAKER who claimed a hotel's poor hygiene and "under-cooked, pink chicken" gave her food poisoning has had a legal bid thrown out by a judge.

Marissa McLean alleged she fell sick with "nausea and diarrhoea" during an all-inclusive Thomas Cook holiday to Egypt's sun-soaked Sharm-el-Sheikh resort.

Bringing a claim for damages against the tour operator, Miss McLean, from Worcestershire, alleged she suffered illness because of "poor hygiene at the hotel" and "the way food was cooked and prepared".

But a court heard how during the period she was supposedly left "trotting back and forth to the toilet", she was posting on social media about being in "luxury".

In a damning conclusion, Judge Nadeem Khan said her evidence was "neither plausible or credible".

He formally ruled her claim "fundamentally dishonest", allowing the tour operator to recover the money it had spent fighting her dodgy claim.

Instead she was ordered to pay £2,812 within 21 days, and refused leave to appeal.

The case is the latest legal victory for Thomas Cook against fake holiday sickness claims after a rise in bogus sickness claims by British tourists.

Abta launched a campaign to tackle the problem in June, saying thousands of tourists had made claims in the past year, worth up to £5,000, despite reported sickness levels in resorts remaining stable.

In McLean's case, Facebook photos were shown to a judge of her posing in a white bikini with the caption "little selfie before the pool party", hours after claiming she had seen a resort doctor.

In another, she was shown with a glass of rum and coke, captioned "pacing myself", despite saying she was left unable to drink alcohol.

Miss McLean from Redditch, said she was left with "horrible stomach pains" but managed to endure a 90-minute coach ride to

the coast, this time for a yacht excursion during the holiday.

She then posted a social media video with the caption: "VIP luxury yesterday - damn I am going to miss this luxury."

Days later, another photograph showed her at the wheel of the yacht, with the description "Captain Marissa, in charge of the boat".

The 27-year-old claimed the posts were to provoke an ex-boyfriend back in the UK to jealousy.

But the judge at Worcester County Court said: "I don't find the claimant's account truthful."

Miss McLean, who flew out from Birmingham for the six-day holiday with a female friend in September 2015, told the court on Wednesday: "I wanted it to look like I was having a good time."

But Ian Denham, representing the tour operator, said there was "a vacuum of evidence" about her case.

Under cross-examination, Miss McLean, a healthcare assistant, said: "Well I wasn't going to put online how I was really feeling."

She claimed to have seen a resort doctor, referred to as "Dr Tariq Mustafa" in court, although Thomas Cook had been unable to contact him.

Miss McLean also allegedly told a holiday rep about the issues while in the four-star Sol Y Mar hotel, in Shark's Bay, and they had promised to give her a form to fill out, but never did.

The court heard she had not contacted the tour operator at any time after returning home.

An independent medical expert Dr Martyn Evans, asked to assess Miss McLean, stated: "The symptoms are compatible with gastro-enteritis from food poisoning as a result of poor handling or hygiene at the hotel."

But it emerged Dr Evans based his report on a telephone assessment only, with Judge Khan describing its findings as "flawed".

Outside court, Miss McLean said the judgment against her was "wrong".