A couple's wedding day was ruined by a scammer who took £2,000 of their money and then vanished just two days before they tied the knot.
Jason and Nicky Asquith-Thorpe, from Harrogate in North Yorkshire, paid Dana Twidale to provide the marquee, tables, chairs and food for 100 guests at their wedding reception on July 27, 2019.
But the friendly and professional Twidale made off with the couple's money two days before on the 25th, causing them to make hasty new arrangements for the wedding, according to Yorkshire Live.
Now the scammer has finally faced justice.
Mr Asquith-Thorpe, 50, said: "My wife saw an advert on Facebook about Dana and all the reviews were really good so she spoke to her mum and went to Hull to meet her.
"She seemed really good and she showed her a lot of pictures for the venues. She showed her pictures of the marquee and she was really approachable.
"We paid for everything before and then two days before the wedding we thought everything was good. But then she messaged about 9am saying the van had broken down but said another would be there before 12pm.
"We thought nothing of it but then at 12pm we turned up at the venue and nothing was there."
The couple waited for Twidale to arrive and then called a man at the marquee hire company to see what was going on .
He told them Twidale had cancelled the booking and had said she was "making her own arrangements".
They called her multiple times - but they never heard from her again.
"She ruined our wedding," Mr Asquith-Thorpe said. "In those next couple of nights we had so much stress and worry but on the day itself, we tried to not concentrate on it.
"But then over the next couple of days we were constantly talking about it and wondering why she has done this to us."
The couple were able to use a church hall and Harrogate Town Football Club's bar for the reception but had to pay an extra £3,000.
Last month they reported Twidale to the police. She pleaded guilty to conning Mrs Asquith-Thorpe, 34, out of £2,247.
Twidale is currently on unconditional bail having admitted to 26 counts of fraud against various people, including other couples and her ex-boyfriend.
Mr Asquith-Thorpe said: "It was gobsmacking to find out how many people were victims and how devious she had been. It sounds like she got herself into a situation and made these false promises by spending money she didn't have."
He said he was keen to see her in court when she is due to be sentenced later this year.
Mr Asquith-Thorpe said his wife blamed herself for trusting the scammer.
"Emotionally it was supposed to be one of the happiest days of our lives but it was one of the worst. It was frustrating, annoying and just heartbreaking" he said.
"I want to see her pay for what she did. She took money - it's fraud. But it's not just that - she played with people's lives and weddings and she has made people distrust others.
"I want her to be sentenced and I want her to go down for what she has done."
