Beith dancers who had raised thousands to go to Disneyland had to take to social media to be refunded for their cancelled trip.

Children from the Maria Marshall Dance Company had held bingo nights, race nights, and packed bags at supermarkets for a year to raise £6,000 for their special trip.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, their magical adventure, due to start on April 24, could not go ahead.

Lisa Marshall, who handles the dance team’s finances, contacted the travel agent, Barrhead Travel to join the long queue of people who have had their holiday plans scuppered.

After waiting for 13 weeks, Maria Marshall, the dance company’s owner, took to social media commenting on advertisements Barrhead Travel were posting for new holidays.

She said: “I spent an hour, commenting on our story and how we were being treated on every single one of their Facebook posts.

“Within the hour, someone reached out.”

Maria said that she was told a refund for the cost of the flights, £3,600, was not possible as the airline, Air France, was only offering vouchers.

She said: “I’m pregnant, another one of the mums is pregnant, all my seniors have their exams next year and it’s just not feasible at all for us to plan another trip at the moment.”

Maria and Lisa contacted the Herald and we asked Barrhead Travel to explain why the 10 kids’ fundraising money was not getting returned to them.

A spokesperson told the Herald: “Our team at Barrhead Travel have been doing everything they possibly can to help the group obtain a refund. Unfortunately, Air France are not issuing monetary refunds at this time and are only providing refund credit notes to all passengers. As the agent, we are bound by the airline’s decisions.”

“We really appreciate the frustration felt by Maria Marshall Dance Group in this situation and know how hard their team worked to fundraise for such a special trip together.”

Barrhead Travel decided to refund the full cost of the flights to the dance group, but said it will have to seek the money from Air France.

On Thursday, Air France responded to a request for comment stating their policy for flight cancellations had changed and all customers will be entitled to a cash refund if they wish.

Bethany Gallagher, Brodie McCoy, Skye McGuire, Frea McQuade, Sophie Lockett, Evan O’Neil, Avril O’Neil, Holly McPhee, Kenzie Robertson and Millie Adam understood why their trip was cancelled but now their hard-won funds can be used for something else.