A DAD has told of his shock after arriving for a five-day holiday in the Netherlands, only to find out a two-week quarantine had been placed upon anyone returning to the UK from the country.

Graham Thomson and his two boys found out about the new rules hours after arriving at their accommodation, just north of the Hague, on Thursday night.

They, along with thousands of holiday makers, will be forced to quarantine for two weeks when they arrive home on Tuesday.

The new Government rules also apply to France, Malta and Monaco.

The 42-year-old, whose children are from Southend, said he has ruled out forking out £684 for a ferry home with Xander, 13, and Reece, ten, before the travel laws come into affect at 4am on Saturday.

Mr Thomson, said: “It’s devastating. If we had known about it before we left we wouldn’t have come.

“The guidance said we would be fine. We get back on August 18 [tomorrow] and won’t be out of quarantine until September 1.

“The boys go back to school two days later. It will be a manic rush to get all their uniform and equipment sorted before they go back.

“We’ll just have to make the most of our time here. We were meant to be seeing family in Weymouth this week but that has now been cancelled.”

The family’s plight come as bosses at Southend Airport slammed the Government for the latest quarantine rules, and called for policies to be “clear and consistent.”

A spokesman from Southend Airport said: “It is disappointing to see further countries added to the quarantine list at such short notice.

“The aviation industry has been exceptionally hard hit with the impact extending to its wider supply chain and job losses mounting almost daily.

“We need Government to help restart our industry by providing policy which is clear, consistent and proportionate to risk, rather than by requiring passengers to enter quarantine when returning from an ever changing list of countries many parts of which have infection rates lower than the UK.”