Travel agent Martin Wellings has been elected president of the industry's consumer watchdog and given six months to help restore its tarnished reputation.

Mr Wellings, who runs Hailsham-based Personal Service Travel (PST), has taken over at the top of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), which represents 90 per cent of the trade.

He has filled the position on a temporary basis following the resignation earlier this year of John Harding after the collapse of Travelscene with debts of £3.5 million.

ABTA, whose members include Virgin Atlantic, P&O, National Express and BAA, provides financial protection for travellers when things go wrong, like hurricanes in the Caribbean.

Its members have to be bonded, which means holidaymakers would be covered if a firm goes out of business. But the organisation's reputation has suffered this year following accusations of fraud against its former legal chief Riccardo Nardi and the revelation citybedz.com, a subsidiary of Travelscene, was unbonded.

One of Mr Welling's first duties will be to host next month's ABTA annual convention in Florida.

He has already pledged to have more contact with members, improve clarity on bonding issues and boost ABTA's lobbying role.

He said: "I will be emphasising to members how important it is the vital workings of ABTA are far more transparent to the travel industry itself and the travelling public.

"ABTA has an even greater role to play these days, with the growth of online bookings with firms that are not bonded, which gives the client no financial protection if something goes wrong."

Mr Welling's brother Paul, who co-runs PST, said: "There has been a bit of murky publicity surrounding ABTA this year but the trade press has wildly over-exaggerated the extent of the problem. I think Martin will be looking to restore some goodwill, rather than credibility. ABTA is still one of the most recognised logos in the UK."

PST was started in Grove Road, Eastbourne, by Kenneth Wellings and has been run by his two sons since 1977. The company has a network of 11 branches across Sussex and Surrey and is the largest independent travel agency in the South-East.

It recently bought and restored Cortland, a Georgian manor house in Hailsham, which is now its headquarters.