Thousands of British tourists in France have arrived back in the UK on the last Eurostar just hours before new quarantine restrictions were imposed.
A Eurostar spokesman said 12,000 people tried to book tickets after the new rules were announced, compared with just hundreds normally.
Mariia Ivanelo, 22, had to cut short her holiday to Paris within hours of arriving in the city.
"I left the UK on Thursday at 2pm, got to France around 5pm and then I had to change my tickets around 9pm and returned today," she said.
She added that she spent most of her savings to make it home on the final Eurostar train.
Advertisement
"It wasn't that expensive because we did plan it like a long time ago – it was around £150 for both tickets," she said.
"But because I couldn't change the tickets back, I had to spend £260 alone to get back home. So, it's been a very stressful time because I don't have that amount of money to spend."
More from Covid-19
The announcement triggered a last-minute scramble for some holidaymakers who were keen to avoid the 14-day quarantine.
But many say they experienced difficulties getting online to amend their tickets.
Ms Ivanelo said: "It was very stressful seeing how everything was going on the website and seeing just the all the tickets just disappearing very, very fast."
:: Listen to the Daily podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker
One woman said she left her two children and husband in France in a bid to make the final Eurostar train before the quarantine rules changed.
"I could only find one ticket for me and my baby to get back. I had to do this because of my job. My husband and two daughters will come back on Monday," she said.
"This quarantine makes no sense because when my husband gets back, he will have to self-isolate in the same house. This is all just utter madness."
She added she is worried that her daughters will still be in isolation when most schools return on 2 September.
"This hasRead More – Source
