THE family of Michael Shields have had their Christmas day visit axed by prison bosses.
His parents, Michael Snr and Marie, along with their two daughters and two grandchildren, have flown to Bulgaria to be with the 19-year-old on Sunday.
They thought Varna state prison guards had agreed to a half-hour visit and were only told the heart-breaking news yesterday.
Varna jail, where Michael is spending his final weeks before a move to prison in the capital Sofia, shuts down over the Christmas weekend. They appealed for the visit to prevent him spending his first Christmas alone.
Now Michael faces an ordinary prison day on Sunday - rising at 7.30am and performing the usual chores before a brief recreational period.
Today, Michael Snr, 46, said: "We're hurting. To come all this way and then not get to see him - it's hard.
"We got our hopes up and the babies were really excited about giving Michael his little presents. There is nothing the British consulate or anyone else can do about it. Marie is broken-hearted.
"Christmas is over for us all but we'll have to put on a brave face for the little ones. We thought we'd got a visit so to suddenly find out it's been cancelled has left us in pieces."
