A brokenhearted wife arranged a dream trip to the Italian Grand Prix for her husband - only to discover the booking agent was under investigation by police following the alleged disappearance of £18,000.

Mandy and David Spencer, of Marines Drive, Faringdon, have now been told by trading standards officers that it is unlikely they will receive the tickets for the event on September 13.

Mandy, 33, booked the ticket to Monza as a present for her racing enthusiast husband's 40th birthday. She had won the money for the trip in a radio competition.

Her friend Tracy Law, from Swindon, had used the company before and Mandy also ordered a ticket on behalf of Tracy's husband Christopher, who was celebrating his 30th birthday. Mandy sent off a cheque for £231.50 each for the race tickets, coach travel and hotel accommodation to the agent at a PO Box number in London.

The mother-of-three later received confirmation of the booking and was told the tickets would arrive seven to ten days before the event.

But Mandy, who works in Budgen's in Faringdon, became concerned when she later tried to contact the company to find the address of the hotel where they would be staying so family members could post David's birthday cards.

Continuous phone calls over six week only produced an answerphone, which said that messages could not be taken.

Now trading standards officers have revealed that the company Grand Prix Tours UK Ltd, which has offices in Bromley and Brent, is under investigation by police. Stephen Mapson, a trading standards officer in Northamptonshire, said 40 separate complaints had been received about the company from customers who had paid out more than £18,000 in total and not received tickets. Most of the complaints were from customers who had booked tickets for the Silverstone Grand Prix.

Mr Mapson said: "We really do not know what's gone wrong. I know that police have contacted the person behind the business. It appears it's pot luck who has received tickets and who's not.

"The likelihood is that the Spencers won't get tickets."

Mandy said: "My husband's just gutted, really shell-shocked. He's always fancied doing a foreign Grand Prix.

"This was going to be the trip of a lifetime for his 40th birthday," she added.

The Oxford Mail rang the company's phone number only to get a message saying there was no response. The company said it was not possible to leave a message.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: "Hounslow CID is investigating an allegation of deception involving a London-based company.

"A 27-year-old man was arrested on August 12 and taken to Hounslow Police station and subsequently bailed to return on September 30, pending further inquiries."

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