A couple left in limbo on board the cruise liner Van Gogh are relieved to be home after days of "frustrated trauma".

Ray and Margaret Young, from High Street, in Milton-Under-Wychwood, hoped the cruise, which set them back around £16,000, would be the trip of a lifetime.

But it seemed, after a series of disappointments - including a bout of bronchitis - their dream holiday was doomed.

The ship ground to a halt as efforts were made by receivers to claw back money from troubled travel firm Travelscope.

Mr Young said: "It has been a week of frustrated trauma for everyone on board the ship, not just the holiday makers, but the staff too."

The pensioners organised the three month cruise with Travelscope to coincide with both their birthdays.

But they were told at the end of last year the tour operator had gone bust, their round-the-world trip was cancelled and all their money was lost.

Fortunately, the holiday was finally given the go ahead just before Christmas by the Association of British Travel Agents in a one-off arrangement.

But two months into the voyage, Mr Young, now 86, contracted what he and other holiday makers aboard the ship have coined the 'Van Gogh cough' and was left with a costly medical bill to pay for treatment.

Mr and Mrs Young, 78, were then stranded for three days along with almost 500 other passengers when the ship was impounded in Madeira as receivers wrangled with Travelscope to recover £1.5m.

Mr Young said: "We were apprehensive over whether we were even going to leave Madeira. On occasions like this the British humour starts to kick in and we had to have a laugh about it. It's in our nature.

"But we found out when we arrived back that we were also detained by the authorities in South Africa for a day too, which they had managed to keep quiet from us.

"The current owners of the ship are trying to get compensation for everyone on board because of the trauma we suffered."

Despite the repeated disappointments, Mr and Mrs Young had nothing but praise for the staff on board the Van Gogh.

Mr Young added: "They really did everything possible to give us a good time.

"Despite what has happened, I would go back on the boat again. It was still a wonderful holiday."

Mrs Young, who is less keen to repeat the experience, said: "I am relieved to be back on solid ground after three months.

"I can almost still feel the boat rocking!"