A FAMILY from Swanage was left desperate for tickets after the collapse of an airline threatened to ruin their big day.

When Zoom Airlines went into administration on Thursday, grounding all its flights, a weekend of panic began for the 16 Swanage residents headed for Canada for Owen Davies' wedding.

Owen, 22, flew out yesterday to Halifax to be with his fiancée, Jennifer Campbell, 23. Their wedding is on October 11.

Family and friends had booked to fly out on the same flight with Zoom next month, spending a total of £5,600 on tickets.

Owen said: "I couldn't believe it. I felt terrible for everyone that had booked up. It was stressful enough trying to organise the wedding and pay for everything and then this happens."

Mum, Diana, 54, of High Street, said that it led to a massive panic. She said: "Owen was devastated because he thought he was going to have his wedding with no family and friends around him."

Diana said that although they were all going to get there, they will now be on different flights, diverting via Toronto or New York at a total cost of some £8,000.

"It's been an absolute nightmare. People have lost a lot of money; we're all still going to make it, but with a lot of extra added cost.

"When we get our money back we don't know. We've all had to bear the brunt of it; it was a very upsetting weekend," she said.

The first of the group booked in March and the most recent just 10 days ago. Some are covered for their loss because they used credit cards, but others may lose their cash.

At best the group could be £2,500 out of pocket. At worst it could be thousands of pounds more.

Hugh and John Boyle, the founders of Zoom, blamed the scenario on the rise in fuel prices.

They said in a statement: "We have done everything we can to support the airline and left no stone unturned to secure a re-financing package that would have kept our aircraft flying.

"The suspension of operations is a result of the exceptionally difficult trading conditions which have affected all airlines over the last 12 months."