That's just not cricket...

2003-11-10 23:17

Marenet Jordaan

Cape Town - A plague of crickets in the Cape Peninsula last year not only frightened off a tourist, but also landed her in court.

Chrissie Barrett, a British property developer, and her god-daughter were so traumatised by the crickets in April last year that, after only one night at the Villa du Sud, they packed their bags and found alternate accommodation in Camps Bay.

Now, the owners of the guest-house are holding Barrett to the cost of her initial booking which amounts to about R20 000.

Dieter Kulenkampff, the guest-house owners' attorney, said on Monday that Barrett had booked two rooms for three weeks.

According to reports, Barrett said she would return to the guest-house once the crickets had been disposed of.

But she never returned and also failed to cancel her booking, said Kulenkampff.

The guesthouse kept their rooms for them in order to fulfil the contract.

Because of the cricket plague, Barrett refused to cover the bill.

Kulenkampff said the guest-house policy was that if a guest failed to cancel a booking they were still responsible for the cost of the room.

The case was postponed until Friday.

- Die Burger