A JOYFUL Hogmanay wedding turned into a nightmare for most of the wedding party after they were struck down by a winter vomiting bug.

The bride and groom, best man, bridesmaid and bride’s father were among 22 victims of diarrhoea and sickness following the New Year nuptials in Dundee.

Bride Heather Albin, 49, and husband Steven Campbell, 52, said the combination of Hogmanay and wedding celebration meant there was a lot of hugging and kissing.

And that is thought to have made it possible for one guest infected with norovirus eventually to infect most of the party.

Heather, a performance swimming coach, said: “We’re all fine, it was just one of those things that happened.

“Everybody was hugging and kissing – which was just the ideal environment for it. I started to feel ill by the end of the first of January into the second.

“My husband started on Hogmanay.”

She added: “Around 20 of our guests had been in touch to say they and their families were feeling terrible — it’s been a nightmare.

“So many of the people who attended the wedding were affected that we wondered if it could have been something we ate at the wedding.

“At the time I was quite upset about it but looking back, everyone had a wonderful day. “

A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said: “NHS Tayside’s health protection team and environmental health officers from Dundee City Council have investigated reports of a number of cases of vomiting and diarrhoea in people who attended an event at Westpark Conference Centre.

“No cause or source has been confirmed but the pattern of the outbreak is consistent with a norovirus type illness.

“Norovirus, also known as the winter vomiting bug, commonly circulates within the community at this time of year and is easily spread between people.

A spokeswoman for the Westpark Centre said: “ We were saddened to hear that some of the wedding party have been ill and we’ve been working very closely to support the health authority’s investigations.”