A terminally ill woman is set to miss out on what may be her final holiday due to a devastating passport blunder.

Lisa Cutler, from the West Midlands, planned the trip with her best pal to scatter her late mum’s ashes in what she calls her last chance to do so.

The 51-year-old, who has stage four breast cancer, had booked to travel to Nessebar in Bulgaria – but was unable to make the holiday due to a mix up at the Passport Office.

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When her new passport was sent out to her she realised that the surname was incorrect. Her documents had arrived with the surname Guyler meaning she could not travel.

Lisa, who previously worked in car sales, was unable to sort the error before her flight.

She said: “It's been absolutely shocking and they just don't give a toss – it's unbelievable. I'm dying, and they admitted it's their mistake – but did nothing about it.

“This was my last chance to feel hot sun on my skin and sand between my toes. And my last chance to scatter mum's ashes."

Lisa was diagnosed with stage four metastatic breast cancer in September 2021 and it has since spread to her bones, spine and liver.

She and her friend Mandy Patterson-Davis, 57, had planned to scatter the ashes of Lisa's late mum Brenda Noble, who died aged 69 in 2019. Lisa’s mum had visited the Nessebar – their destination – every year for three decades until she passed away.

Lisa was too unwell to make the trip last year, but planned to travel on June 6. Before she booked, Lisa realised her passport had expired and so applied for a renewal.

She applied for the documents using her old passport and marriage certificate and sent them through her local Post Office three months ahead of the trip on March 1. She also paid a fee of £109.

When Lisa’s new passport arrived she was thrilled to be able to make the holiday, but the she saw that her surname ‘Cutler’ had been replaced with Guyler she was confused.

She said: "The girls at the Post Office were amazing. They checked everything four times.

“I know my surname was correct on the forms. I have very clear handwriting and it's Cutler on my marriage certificate."

Lisa called the Passport Office and was told to reapply however she refused to pay the cost for a second time. Having told the officials about her diagnoses she was instructed to send the passport back which she did on March 23.

She waited three weeks as instructed, then emailed three times. Her husband Jonathan Cutler, 48, also called twice they claim but no new document arrived.

Lisa says she was then told the problem would be sorted in a call on May 19. Days later they called again as it still had not arrived.

Her passport was eventually delivered by courier on June 4 after enquiries by reporters to the Home Office – but Lisa says it was far too late as there was not enough time for her to get ready for the holiday.

She said: "I'm heartbroken. I've been waiting such a long time to do this for my mum.

“With my condition I can't get ready to go away in such a short space of time, and we had no idea when or if it was coming. This had to be organised around chemo cycles, and the next opportunity would be July 4.

“So all I can do is pray I'll be well enough then, and it will cost about £500 more."

Businessman Jonathan said: "It's a disgrace – and there's no accountability at all. They've completely ruined this.

“By the time it arrived we didn't have time to get everything ready to go away.We weren't prepared for travelling with Lisa's condition, or even to organise for neighbours to look after our cats.

“She needs a lot more time for tasks like packing now. How can you get from Cutler to Guyler?

“Where's the checking process? This is an important document use for travelling the world."

The Passport Office is an agency of the the Home Office. The Home Office declined to comment to SWNS.

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