A newly-wed Winchester couple returned home from honeymoon to find they had lost their wedding presents after an internet firm crashed.

Friends and family of Dave and Sue Walker-Nix bought gifts worth a total £1,200 through The Gift Registry, but they have not been delivered.

The company went into administration last weekend, leaving the heartbroken couple empty-handed and their guests out-of-pocket.

To make matters worse, Dave lost his job the day before booking their three-week honeymoon to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.

"It's certainly not the best way to start married life," said the 39-year-old telecommunications engineer, who was made redundant.

The couple had been given 60 items from their online wedding list, including a £200 dinner set, table and chairs, a bedside cabinet and pictures.

The company went into administration last Friday, just hours after Dave rang to organise delivery of the gifts to their home in Sermon Road, Teg Down.

Dave said: "They were being a bit funny over the phone and we could not understand why."

The following day, the company's telephones were not being answered and a worried Dave looked up the Gift Registry website to find a notice saying the company had gone into administration.

It said: "Regrettably we will not be able to make any more deliveries...If any of your guests have paid for goods we have been unable to deliver, they will need to make a claim against their credit/debit card company."

Dave said he sat his 34-year-old wife down before breaking the bad news. Sue works as a nurse at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester.

He said: "We had 70 guests and only 10 bought presents outside the on-line system. The Gift Registry completely ruined six out of seven of our wedding presents.

"We never even got to open them. I am damned annoyed and Sue is completely devastated. What is worse is that it is not even our money that is lost, but that of our good friends."

The couple, who tied the knot at the Lainston House Hotel last month, are now faced with the embarrassing task of suggesting their guests try to claim their money back.

Now Dave is considering contacting Winchester MP, Mark Oaten, to get a change in the law. He said: "Hopefully, this will warn other people about the hazards on on-line shopping."

Across the country, it is believed that around 350 couples have lost their presents. The Gift Registry allowed couples to make up a wedding list of items from large stores, including John Lewis, Argos, Bhs and Debenhams. It financed its services by charging extra for the items.