DO you know the way to San Jose? Whitefield pensioner Mrs Trudy Rosenfield (70) was hoping somebody did after she was flown to San Jose but in the wrong country.

Mrs Rosenfield flew out from Manchester Airport on Monday morning (May 27) expecting to arrive in San Jose, California, to visit relatives.

But when the plane touched down, she found herself thousands of miles off course in San Jose, Costa Rica.

A mix-up in Trudy's travel arrangements is being blamed for the mishap.

But her ordeal did not stop there. As Trudy tried to make her way to the right destination, she was left stranded in Texas overnight due to a flight delay.

Her original 11-hour journey only came to an end yesterday morning (Thurs May 30) when she finally arrived on Californian soil and into the welcoming arms of her cousin.

Trudy's daughter Hilary Rosenfield (35) said she had been through a traumatic and exhausting journey, and sparked concerns about her mother's health as she suffers from breathing difficulties due to her emphysema.

Hilary, of Sunnybank, said: "My mother is an accomplished traveller but she has her ailments. She needs wheelchair assistance and needs to use inhalers because of her condition. I just want her to be okay after this."

The mother-of-three booked her holiday with Travelcare in The Mall, Bury, and explained she was to visit family in California.

She was looking forward to seeing her cousin Alan and his wife and they had arranged a packed itinerary for Trudy's two-and-a-half week stay, including a trip to Las Vegas.

However, the seemingly well-planned trip was left in tatters after Alan telephoned the airport in San Jose, California, ahead of her arrival.

Hilary said: "I got a call from Alan at 1.15 Tuesday morning. He had been told by the airport that there was no flight expected from New Jersey, where mum had taken a connecting flight. The only other San Jose he could think of was in Costa Rica."

Hilary then telephoned Continental Airlines and was on for more than an hour trying to find out what had happened.

They discovered that Trudy was indeed on her way to South America and arranged to meet her off the plane and explain the situation.

"My mum is a very chatty person and I thought she would have got talking to someone on the plane and panic," added Hilary. "But it seems she did not realise until she was met by the representative."

The airline company agreed to put up the grandmother overnight in Costa Rica and arrange her flights for the following day to Houston, Texas then a connection to San Jose, California.

Hilary said: "I spoke to her for two minutes at the hotel and she was absolutely shattered and a bit distressed. She had needed wheelchair assistance and was ready for a good rest."

Unfortunately for Trudy, her nightmare did not end there.

The following day her flight to Texas was delayed due to bad weather and she failed to make her connection to California, forcing her to spend yet another unplanned stay over night, this time in Texas.

Trudy finally arrived at her destination safe and well in the early hours of Thursday.

The words of the Dionne Warwick song, "Do You Know The Way To San Jose?" have come back to haunt the travel company who arranged the flight.

A spokesman for Travelcare said: "We are extremely sorry this has happened. There seems to have been a serious misunderstanding when Mrs Rosenfield booked the tickets and we will be holding an investigation."

He said that although Trudy's travel details said "San Jose, Costa" his staff had failed to pick up the mistake as had the passenger, and added: "Mrs Rosenfield did not incur any extra cost to herself, although she has suffered considerable inconvenience. This is extremely rare and the first situation like this I have come across."

Trudy's family have sought legal advice.