FOR most, a summer holiday is the main highlight of the year, signalling a break from the monotony of endless hours at work, housework and childcare juggling.

But some East Lancashire families face the threat of having to cancel their well- earned break in the sun as a backlog in passport applications is causing long delays for travellers wanting to renew their documents even if they are submitted in plenty of time.

MPs across East Lancashire said staff in their offices had even been working overtime to step in and help those holidaymakers desperate not to have to cancel.

The Home Office charges £72.50 to renew a passport minus the postage – an administration fee that adds up to almost the cost of a holiday if a whole family have to renew at once.

If staff are unable to meet the demand on passport applications, surely extra people should be employed to ensure hard-working residents are not affected.

Some may even argue that those who are made to wait longer than the average three weeks to receive their documents should be compensated for the stress and worry they have suffered wondering if they will make their holiday, have to rearrange or have to try to book even more time off work.