Distressed brides-to-be

A woman who closed her bridal shop suddenly, leaving brides without dresses, has gone into hiding after receiving threats.

Arvella Brides, in High Street, Lyndhurst, Hampshire, closed without warning on Tuesday leaving angry brides-to-be out of pocket.

Owner Lisa Clarkson blamed market conditions and suppliers and said she had done nothing wrong.

"I'm so sorry they [the brides] have been caught up in this mess," she said.

"None of this was intentional. Myself and my staff have tried everything possible to make sure that they are all sorted as much as we can.

"The people that have had dresses, we are still working together to try and get them dresses and I'm really, really sorry that people are in this position."

Speaking from a hotel where she has been staying, Mrs Clarkson, from Warsash, said she arrived home on Tuesday to find 10 people outside "banging the doors down".

"I'm beside myself, I'm scared," she said.

She added that her dogs had been also been kidnapped.

"I cannot understand how anybody, regardless of the emotion they were going through, would come to my home and break down the gate and take my dogs. It's prevented me carrying on and sorting out the brides."

Hampshire Police said they had not received any reports of an incident at Mrs Clarkson's home, but they were called to disperse angry couples who arrived at the shop on Tuesday to find the windows had been whitewashed.

Mrs Clarkson, 33, said: "There are a number of reasons why it's happened. The way the market is at the moment, we tried desperately within the shop to not be in this position.

"Unfortunately with certain suppliers and support that I thought I had that I don't have - in general it's just the way the market is at the moment.

"There were particular problems, staffing problems."

But she denied there were warning signs and insisted that she had not taken money knowing orders could not be honoured.

"Like any business you don't go out of your way to put these brides in this position, where they are left with nothing.

"The way everything is, you keep going and trying to make things better. I tried desperately to do that.

"I did not take any orders from a bride and not order the dress, it was not like that at all."

But that has been contradicted by a number of customers who have contacted the BBC.

Ian Taylor, from London, said his sister Helen ordered a dress at the shop last year.

"When we found out we contacted the designer who said they had not received the order - yet the shop took the payment in full," he said.

"She's due to get married in five weeks and is left without any money or a dress."

A report on the Companies House website shows that the business failed to present its accounts when they were due in January.