A FAMILY'S dream holiday to see in the New Year in the Far East has been saved - thanks to the Evening Press.

Father-of-three David Rhodes, of Dringhouses, York, was left devastated after his family was faced with being stranded in a Hong Kong airport when the clock struck midnight because a flight company had bungled their reservation.

He had booked the holiday of a lifetime to Australia and Hong Kong more than a year ago through Manchester-based Dial-A-Flight.

But a company representative contacted them to say a mistake had been made with their return Cathay Pacific flight reservation and they would have to set off from Hong Kong two days early - just after midnight on New Year's Day.

Now alternative flights have been found for the family after the Evening Press intervened.

Mr Rhodes and his wife, Sarah, saved for years for the trip. As planned, will now be able to stay with his brother Down Under, and see the New Year in with friends in Hong Kong, where Mr Rhodes used to live.

"I'm absolutely delighted - the Evening Press has done a fantastic job," said Mr Rhodes, who is a worshipper at St Paul's Church.

"I had tried absolutely everything to get it sorted, but to no avail.

"We were so upset at the thought of seeing in the New Year in an airport.

"We're looking forward to the holiday even more now."

A spokeswoman for Dial-A-Flight today apologised to the Rhodes family for any distress caused.

She said: "Mr Rhodes is happy with the flight schedule that is virtually identical to that booked in the first instance. I have also apologised to Mr Rhodes for any distress this situation caused as certainly this is not typical of the standards of service usually achieved by Dial-A-Flight."

The father-of-three originally wrote to the chief executive of Lotus International, which owns Dial-A-Flight, but received a reply saying it would take them 28 days to investigate the matter.

Updated: 08:56 Wednesday, December 10, 2003