A family from Falmouth forced to cancel their first family trip after not receiving their passports have had their holiday saved by a ferry company.

Kelly Thomas and Darren Friend, were due to travel to France with their two year old son, Beau and Darren’s parents, Richard and Valerie, but were forced to put their plans on hold as Darren and Beau’s passports were nowhere to be seen.

The Friend family sent their passport applications – a renewal for Darren and a first time application for Beau - more than seven weeks ago.

After hearing about Kelly and Darren’s holiday disaster, Condor Ferries decided to take action and save their holiday, offering the family a free trip to the Channel Islands.

Travel to the Channel Islands does not require a passport, so the family, including Darren’s parents are now looking forward to a five-day trip to Jersey in July.

As well as free return ferry travel to Jersey with Condor Ferries, the family will also enjoy free accommodation courtesy of Morvan Hotels, who have organised for the family to stay in one of their apartments, close to the town of St. Helier.

Kelly said: “We literally can’t believe this is happening – it’s not every day you get such an amazing and generous offer. We were devastated when we realised we were going to have to miss our first family holiday but Condor Ferries has completely saved the day. We’re thrilled to bits and cannot wait to travel with them to Jersey next month.”

Alicia Andrews, from Condor Ferries, added: “We are delighted to be able to come to Kelly and Darren’s rescue and offer a free trip to the Channel Islands, courtesy of Condor Ferries. There are families up and down the country finding themselves in a similar situation who think they will have to go without their longed-for summer holiday because of the passport backlog, but they don’t.

"Travel to the Channel Islands with Condor Ferries does not require a passport and with our regular fast ferry services, holidaymakers can be topping up their tans in just two and half hours. We hope Kelly and Darren have a wonderful family holiday in Jersey.”