Ex nurse set up a bogus travel agency
A penniless ex nurse went on eight luxury cruises worth £55,000 in five months after setting up a bogus travel agency and using it to book the holidays.
Kay Hooper, 58, booked penthouse state rooms on all-inclusive deals and spent up to 10 days a time cruising in luxury in the Mediterranean, the West Indies, Bermuda and Canad
She devised the scheme to take revenge on the Norwegian Cruise Line after she was bumped off a cruise which she had paid for after losing her passport in Rome.
She filled in an online form to register with the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and set up a bogus business called Travel Connections at her rented home in Torrington.
Hooper was able to book the trips without even paying a deposit because she told Norwegian Cruises her business was part of the Freedom Travel group, which is a subsidiary of Thomas Cook.