Customers of a Winchester dress agency have been left out of pocket after the shop shut without telling them.

They all left good-quality clothes with Opals' Designer Fashion Agency in Parchment Street to sell on their behalf. The proceeds of the sale were to be split 50:50.

But the shop closed several weeks ago without customers being asked to collect their garments. Now they are faced with trying to trace the owner in a bid to get their property back.

Marjorie Titheridge (80), of Harestock, said: "It was a shock. The owner kept a note of phone numbers to advise when an item had been sold or to ask that it be collected, so there was no excuse for not getting hold of us.

"But I was not contacted and she had a shop full of clothes, so I am not the only one affected. It is a mystery. If she had been taken ill, I could understand the shop closing, but not being completely emptied."

Mrs Titheridge, a former manager at Debenhams, left a Jaegar suit and Viyella skirt and jacket, both belonging to her daughter, as well as a skirt and jacket and a trouser suit of her own.

"I'd rather give things to charity. As a pensioner, I'm not really in a position to ignore the loss of garments that had not been worn more than a handful of times," she said.

The city centre premises are now being re-let by commercial property agents, Palmer Fry, in Southgate Street. Director, Jim Sawyer, said about "half-a-dozen" people had contacted him to find out what had happened to Opals', but he was unable to help.

"We can't disclose anything. We act for the landlord. The tenant left and the landlord asked us to relet the premises, so the whereabouts of Opals' is nothing to do with us and we can't provide any information. We can only refer people to the police if they think a criminal offence has been committed."

Sergeant Neil Jenkins, of North Walls police station, said: "Certainly, this is something we could look into, but without the full facts, we don't know if a criminal act has been committed. It could be a civil matter."

He said people could get in touch with Sgt Gary Woods and he would investigate.

A spokesman for Hampshire Trading Standards said: "As it is an agency, the clothes would still belong to the people who gave them to the shop to sell. They should be able to reclaim them."

She advised trying to contact the owner through the board in the shop window - Palmer Fry - or the Official Receivers if the business had gone bankrupt.