Ban for former directors of wedding firm

Wrapit, which had a showroom in Harrogate, had debts of more than 7m when it ceased trading two years ago, leaving an estimated 3,000 couples waiting for 72,000 undelivered gifts.

The firm's former managing director, Peter Gelardi, was disqualified for eight years, and its retail director, Pepita Diamand, was banned for seven years.

The director of company investigations for the Insolvency Service, Vicky Bagnall, said: "Thousands of newlyweds have had their big day spoilt following the wrongdoing of Wrapit's directors."

Wrapit, based in Wandsworth, London, was founded in 2000 as an upmarket online wedding gift service. It let couples compile wedding lists, which were posted on the firm's website from which guests could choose presents.