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The plight of a couple in Middlesbrough has highlighted the need for travel insurance to cover the possible cancellation of a trip of a lifetime.

The Evening Gazette reports that Lorraine and David Routh are set to cancel their forthcoming trip to the Dominican Republic after Mr Routh was severely injured.

And, because they failed to take out travel insurance cover, they are unlikely to recoup the £2,000 spent on the holiday.

Mr Routh, who works as a handyman, fell off a ladder while inspecting a friend's roof and suffered a number of life-threatening injuries including a broken back and therefore is unable to fly.

Frances Tuke of travel association ABTA explained: "If you have to cancel your holiday for any reason, including the death of a spouse, you are not covered for the cancellation unless you have got travel insurance already in place."

Last week, research from Essential Travel indicated that many holidaymakers are changing their vacation plans to take the swine flu pandemic into consideration.

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