MORE than 100 creditors will be left out of pocket by a total of almost £200,000 as a result of the firm behind the disastrous Severn Boat Festival losing thousands of pounds at the event, it has been revealed.

A year on from the washout event held on Pitchcroft racecourse last July, Richard Hemmings, manager of accountants Smith and Williamson in Worcester's St Swithin's Street - appointed liquidators - said Worcester Events Ltd only had about £800 of assets to pay off debts totalling some £198,000.

The company lost between £70,000 and £80,000 after hoping to attract 45,000 visitors to the festival - which boasted craft and riverboat displays among other attractions - with only 16,000 turning up, leaving a total of 103 people owed money.

Organisers blamed the poor weather, but the company also came in for criticism of its management by traders, some of whom left before the three-day festival ended.

Now, speaking to the Worcester News, Mr Williamson said that after months of painstaking work going through the company's books and drawing up reports,

continued on page two

they were preparing to hold final meetings to close the liquidation process over the next couple of months.

Once that has happened the company will be struck off the register of companies held by Companies House in London.

Mr Williamson said the only real assets they had managed to find belonging to the company was £800 which had not been banked before its accounts were frozen.

He added: "We've had to carry out all of the processes of liquidation and prepare reports so the Government knows what's happened.

"There was very little in the way of assets which we managed to realise so people who lost that money will just have to write it off I'm afraid."

Karl Bobrowski, general manager of Worcester Marine Windows in Three Springs Trading Estate, off the city's Wyld's Lane, said they paid nearly £650 for a pitch and demanded a refund after getting one customer over the whole three days.

He added: "It was absolutely horrendous - we were promised there was going to be X amount of people and it was going to be all-singing, all-dancing but it was an absolute shambles.

"The pricing was all wrong, the entrance fees were extortionate and it was just complete chaos."

Worcester Events Ltd, of Bilford Road, Worcester, was formed in January 2004 by director Chris Carless and Andy Lee and a six-year deal was signed to hold the festival in Worcester. Despite attempts to contact Mr Carless, he was unavailable for comment.