A couple have described how their romantic getaway turned into a nightmare when they discovered their hotel was a building site.

Bobby Mayamey and his fiancée Stephanie Day had planned to spend a relaxing week in the Lake District as a mini-moon before they went abroad for their honeymoon.

When their wedding plans were postponed due to Covid, they decided to treat themselves and go ahead with the trip to the Aphrodite Hotel in Bowness last week.

But within 24 hours, their romantic getaway was ruined when they discovered their room was just metres from a building site with workmen walking past their window and a strong smell of oil that left them with headaches.

The couple say they were then forced to fork out thousands of pounds on a last minute booking at an alternative hotel.

Mr Mayamey said: 'We arrived last Thursday and had planned on staying until Sunday but because the first 24 hours were such a disaster we ended up leaving that hotel on Friday.'

Civil servant Mr Mayamey said that when they first arrived, they realised their room was tucked away in the corner which is what they were expecting.

But he added: 'When we got into the room we immediately wondered if it was the right one because it was very dark and dingy.

'It was supposed to be a luxury boutique resort but there was this tall fence they had put up outside the window to block the view of the building site which meant there was very little light.'

The 37-year-old said he immediately called reception and as he was on the phone, he was drowned out by the drilling noise coming from the building site.

He added: 'When I went into the garden, they had put up felt so people working on the site wouldn't see you in the hot tub which was dirty when we arrived.

'It looked shocking.

If they had used bamboo or something it might have been OK but the felt just made it look tacky.'