Mask accusation 'spoilt' family holiday for Derbyshire mother

The family was told it would face problems leaving Greece

A woman's family holiday to Greece was "spoilt" when she claims her son was falsely accused of not wearing a face mask on a ferry.

Annette Jennison, from Etwall, Derbyshire, was celebrating her 60th birthday in Rhodes in August.

During a trip to another island her son Michael was stopped by a Greek official and issued a €150 (£133) fine, despite him claiming he was wearing a mask.

The BBC has tried contacting the Greek embassy for a comment.

It is mandatory to wear a face mask on all public transport in Greece, including on ferries, to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Michael Jennison, who lives in Macclesfield, Cheshire, said he was aware of the rules and was wearing a mask during the 75-minute crossing to Halki.

He said he knows this because when he put his sunglasses on to leave the boat, they began to steam up.

Mr Jennison denies not wearing a face mask

After the boat stopped in the harbour the family was taken aside by authorities.

"I'd been wearing the mask the whole time so at that point I just assumed it was some sort of local scam," Michael said.

"I started to walk off and things escalated pretty quickly and they started to get both physically and verbally violent."

Annette Jennison said the holiday was spoilt

The family was taken to the port office where they spent two hours and Mr Jennison, 29, was fined.

Ms Jennison, said: "At the time we were very frightened, upset obviously.

"I felt very protective towards Michael at the time, we all did, because it was so unjust and unneeded.

"After that it did spoil the holiday somewhat."

She said the family was told it would face problems when leaving Greece and that played on their mind for the rest of the trip, but they returned safely.