A COUPLE who are due to get married in Cyprus next month have paid out almost £5,000 more for their big day after holiday operator Thomas Cook went bust.

Jane Hesford and Jamie Pearce, who first met when they were teenagers, will celebrate with 30 friends and family on October 16. The wedding party will leave on October 11.

The couple had booked their wedding with company Perfect Weddings Abroad.

But while many of their guests will fly with British Airways, Ms Hesford and Mr Pearce – as well as their immediate relatives – had been booked onto Thomas Cook flights.

On Sunday night, the couple, who live in Hamworthy, went to bed believing the government would bail the company out. Shortly after 4am, Ms Hesford checked her phone – and realised Thomas Cook had collapsed.

She said: "It's just been unbelievable.

"I've spent 1pm until 5pm on the phone just trying to rebook everything and get it all sorted.

"I've had to pay another £4,700, but at the moment, all I want is to get there and to get married to Jamie."

Ms Hesford said some businesses are already vastly inflating the price of flights.

"My brother, his partner and their five children rebooked their flights. Half an hour later, my sister, her partner and their son tried to book," she said.

"In that time – just that 30 minutes or so – the extra charge had gone from £100 to £287, and there's only three of them compared to seven."

Ms Hesford's hotel booking had also increased in price.

"I asked if they'd honour the price I paid back in February, and they said it'll be another £207 per night – we're staying for a fortnight," she said.

"The whole thing has just been so stressful and so expensive. People have told me that one day we'll look back on this and laugh – and it'll make for a great speech."

On Monday, more than 150,000 British holidaymakers were abroad with Thomas Cook. All will need to be repatriated as a result of the 178-year-old firm's collapse, the Civil Aviation Authority said.