THE failed Game and Country Fair at the Three Counties Showground in September has left debts totalling more than £170,000.

The prospects of staff and performers at the event getting paid are said to be bleak, after the debts were revealed at a creditors' meeting on Monday (October 14)

Neil Hickling, of Worcester-based accountants Smith and Williamson, was appointed liquidator of Game and Country Fair England Limited at the meeting.

He said the "total deficiency" left after the fair amounts to £148,387, after assets totalling £27,000 are disposed of.

"The reason it went bust was that they only had about 6,000 people through the turnstiles when they were hoping for 30,000 plus," said Mr Hickling.

Fears that the company was in trouble were sparked when people who had been hired to perform at the fair found their cheques had been cancelled.

The three-day event was the first of its kind to take place at the venue. Organisers claimed it had attracted 12,000.

Mr Hickling said he has been asked to investigate the company's accounts and the amount of money released to creditors would depend on the amount of work he was asked to do.

He said that people classed as employees of the company would have more rights to any money from the liquidation than those who count as self-employed.

But he warned that even those first in line should not expect to see more than a few pence for every pound they were owed.

Mr Hickling pointed out that although many creditors were demanding an explanation at the meeting, the directors in charge of the company who froze its account have also lost out, as they provided personal backing for the venture.

The Department of Trade and Industry will consider whether to take action against the directors after it has seen a report from Mr Hickling, which must be submitted within six months.