IT’S every travellers’ worst nightmare: a mother claims she has been left covered in infected bed bug bites after a hotel stay. Debra Bratt told the UK’s Hartlepool Mail she woke up in the middle of the night and found the critters of all different sizes crawling over the beds in her Travelodge room which she was sharing with her two sisters.

She has been prescribed antibiotics to treat the bug bites all over her body after they became infected, and says she sees the “awful” image of the insects crawling over the beds whenever she closes her eyes to go to sleep.

“I woke up and put the light on and all three beds were covered,” she said. “I was just trying to get all of the bugs off the beds but there were so many of them. It was just an absolute nightmare.” She said she took a tissue with some of the bugs to show the reception in the morning.

Travelodge sent a letter to Ms Bratt to confirm that the room in the London Central Kings Cross Royal Scot Hotel had been found to be infested with bed bugs after an investigation.

They said it has been treated by a pest control company and will be monitored. A Travelodge spokeswoman said: “We are doing everything we can to help the customer and we hope to be able to work with her to get an outcome she is happy with”.