Manchester terror attack: Chorley travel agents 'went the extra mile'

Heather Ruth - a friend of 15-year-old Olivia Campbell’s grandmother - took to social media to thank the women, known only as Saskia and Julietta from the Thomas Cook branch in Chapel Street, for “going the extra mile”.

Ms Ruth said she went into the branch “with tears in my eyes”, looking for help in getting the grandmother home from Tenerife, so she could be with her daughter.

She said: “I told her I’d sort it. A claim that I feared I couldn’t actually do but wanted to take away some of the horror and also leave her free to support her daughter.”

She added: “Within 10 minutes of me being in the shop we had three phone lines going- one in Spanish, one to a different tour operator in Tenerife and one to my friend to fill in details while she made her way to the airport. Booking emergency flights is not as easy as it once was in the current climate and those girls (Saskia and Julietta) were a force to be reckoned with.

“I collected my friend from Manchester airport just a few hours later and she was able to be with her daughter as the news came in that sadly Olivia had been killed. That news broke publicly this morning and I know Saskia and Julietta will have broken a little bit when they saw her name.”

Appealing to the two women, Ms Ruth added: “If you’re reading this please know that you made such a difference. Nothing can bring Olly back but during the darkest time in a mother’s life, your extra mile really did matter. Thank you x.”

A spokesperson for Thomas Cook said: “Our thoughts are with Olivia’s family at this desperately sad time. We are pleased that Saskia and Julietta from our Chorley store could help in such tragic circumstances.”

Olivia, from Bury, Greater Manchester, was among 22 people died who after an explosive device was detonated at an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.

A further 59 people were injured when Salman Abedi, 22, detonated a homemade device packed with nuts and bolts in the Arena’s foyer as thousands of young people left a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande.