A COUPLE have been left devastated after travel firm Thomas Cook went bust days before their dream Greek island wedding.

Martin Roffey and Gemma Beard from Tavistock are desperately trying to salvage their wedding on the island of Zante which was due to take place next Wednesday (October 2).

They arranged their wedding through Thomas Cook and had been planning and paying for it for two years. Family and friends were flying out to Greece too and have also lost money.

The couple are now waiting to hear if they can book more flights so the wedding can still go ahead.

‘It has been devastating for both us,’ said Martin on Tuesday. ‘Today has been such a strange day waiting to hear whether we can get the flights so we can still go ahead. It has been horrible watching my partner breaking her heart over it. It is like a rug has been ripped from under our feet and there is nothing we can do about it.’

Martin, 40, an electrician, and Gemma, 33, a healthcare assistant at Derriford Hospital, have been saving up precious leave and hard earned money for their wedding in a taverna on a hill.

While they should eventually get back the several thousands pounds from Thomas Cook, as it is protected by the holiday insurance scheme ATOL, they will lose several thousand pounds spent out in Greece on everything from translating documents to cake and wedding favours if the ceremony doesn’t go ahead.

‘We have done as much as we can to salvage the wedding and now we are just waiting,’ said Martin. ‘My partner works as a healthcare assistant at Derriford and she has been working furiously trying to build up her leave for the wedding.

‘I’m self-employed and I’ve told everyone I won’t be working for those two weeks, cvontinued Martin.

‘It would be devastating for us, having waited for the wedding for two years, if it can’t go ahead, absolutely soul destroying.’

After the news came out on Monday that efforts had failed to save Thomas Cook — the pioneer of the package holiday — the couple were touched that their wedding planner from Thomas Cook got in contact with them, despite being among the 9,000 people in the UK set to lose their jobs.

She put them in touch with another wedding planner out in Zante who is working to make sure the couple’s wedding can still happen.

Another travel agent is trying to find them flights.

‘We are trying desperately to salvage it,’ said Martin.

‘We have managed to cobble together a lot of money to get more flights and we have got another wedding planner.

‘Unfortunately some of the guests have fallen by the wayside because they can’t afford to fly out, so five of our close friends won’t be able to make it.’

On Monday official receivers were appointed to wind up Thomas Cook.

As the Government undertook to fly back the 150,000 Thomas Cook holidaymakers, the company’s shops, including the one in Tavistock’s Brook Street, were shut up.

A spokesman for the official receivers was unable to confirm how many people had lost their jobs at the branch.

Staff will not get their September pay packet from Thomas Cook but will need to apply for them from the Government’s Redundancy Payment Service.