The collapse of Thomas Cook shocked the country last month, but none more so than its ever-loyal staff.

Tina Gallacher, who is 44 and from Cumbernauld, had worked with Thomas Cook since 1994 as a manager in their stores across Glasgow.

“Thomas Cook was in my blood” she said.

A month on, she has been instrumental in the opening of the new Hays Travel in The Forge, Parkhead, but not before she woke up to find that overnight on September 23 she had lost her beloved job only three days before pay day.

“Thomas Cook felt like a home to me, and my staff were like a family” says Tina.

It was with her staff that she endured the agonising final night, through Whatsapp messages.

READ MORE: Glasgow-based travel firm Barrhead Travel to create 100 jobs for former Thomas Cook staff

“We had no prior knowledge what was going to happen. The Sunday was trading as normal. We knew there were meetings but we just thought something would happen to pull it off.

“Everyone was talking constantly in the Whatsapp groups from work.

“We were up all night and found out from the media at 2am. At 4am we had an email from management that confirmed the news

“We were so raw and upset, but everyone was talking together about it, which made it feel less like it was happening to you as an individual, but that it was happening to all of us.

“We were all told from our regional manager not to go to the stores, but it was so hard. You were upset for your staff and your customers. It was hard to remember I should feel upset for myself.

“It was heartbreaking, it was like someone had died.”

READ MORE: Thousands of jobs set to be saved as Thomas Cook stores bought out by Hays Travel

Luckily for Tina, travel is her life and it is this passion that allowed her to pick herself up to start with Hays Travel – but not before she had to make her first trip to the JobCentre.

“I had never done that before – my first time ‘signing on’, I asked where I had to sign,” says Tina.

Invited by her regional manager Tanya Cooper, Tina got her girls back together and threw themselves into the opening of the new Hays Travel store last week.

Although it is an exciting new adventure for Tina, she still misses Thomas Cook.

“It has affected so many people and things, shops, routes, hotels, holidays and, of course, people’s jobs.

“But to me, it’s as if something is just missing in the sky. It was 175 years, a British national treasure just gone, like that.”

Despite her sadness to see Thomas Cook go, Tina says that the experience strengthened her belief in humanity.

“We love making people’s dreams become reality and thanks to Hays we can do this again.

“It just shows that it is the people who worked behind a brand that truly make it.”