A couple have been left shocked and saddened after their wedding on the north Norfolk coast was abruptly cancelled.

Glenn Burrows, 27, and Linda Bullock, 41, were due to tie the knot at the Manor Hotel in Mundesley next month but their big day was called off this week by the hotel's owner.

Terry Burch – who repossessed the Victorian venue after the company that leased it from him went into liquidation – said he cancelled their nuptials for their sake as he would not be able to give them the day they deserved, due to a lack of staff.

The North Walsham couple immediately started looking for a new venue and have been able to re-arrange their ceremony and celebrations at the Scarborough Hill hotel in town. But they have been told they will lose their �1,000 deposit at the Manor.

Mr Burch took back the Beach Road hotel this week and said he has been left with just three members of staff, which is not enough to run functions, and he has had to cancel five weddings.

'Your wedding day is the most important day of your life, we want them to come in here and have a good time but I haven't got the staff, I just cannot do it,' he added. 'I have got to think of them (the couples) more than myself.

'It would break my heart to give people a bad wedding day.'

Mr Burrows said the sudden cancellation was 'upsetting' and 'frustrating' for both him and Miss Bullcok, but he was grateful to the Scarborough for stepping in and saving their big day.

He said the hotel in Old Yarmouth Road had also offered him and his fianc�e a discount on their wedding package and been able to keep their April 16 wedding date, which he said was too late to change as guests had booked the day off.

Mr Burrows added: 'They have stepped in and restored my faith in humanity. Their general manager drove up from Norwich especially to meet us and offered what the Manor were going to do for us.'

Mr Burch stressed the Manor was still open and trading. He hoped to get it back on its feet by late spring when he would then look to sell it.

Country Inn Eastern, which leased the hotel, stopped trading at the beginning of the year just before liquidators were appointed on February 1.

Debtfocus Business Recovery and Insolvency Ltd, the appointed liquidators, said the company had struggled to fill rooms and trade had been slow due to the economic downturn, which had put a strain on 'cash flow' and forced bosses to seek insolvency advice.