Distraught newlyweds were left without their dream wedding cakes and hundreds of pounds out of pocket after falling victim to a fraudulent cake maker.

Hollie Smith, 30, of Peckover Road in Norwich, plead guilty at Norwich Magistrates' Court on August 9, to seven charges of fraud by false representation.

Prosecutor Colette Harper said the crimes took place between August 8, 2021 and March 6 this year in which Smith took orders for wedding cakes from seven different customers through Facebook.

The court heard Smith, who is a single mother to a five and eight-year-old, did not deliver on the orders and owed £818.

Mitigating, Sally Dale said Smith developed mental health issues three years ago after the death of her father.

She lost her long-term part-time insurance job in the Covid pandemic and took on cake making after friends admired her baking skills.

She then turned to online gambling to try to get herself out of a "financial hole".

Smith received a 12-month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay back the money, on top of £50 compensation per victim.

Mrs Harper said some of the victims had to chase Smith for updates or refunds after the defendant stopped communicating with them in the weeks running up to their weddings.

Some did not have their cakes for their big days after alternative makers did not have time to recreate original designs.

One of the victim impact statements read out in court said: "Hollie assured me on several messages the cake would be amazing. How wrong was this.

"Message started to get less and less. We were increasingly worried about running out of time. We had messages from previous customers saying we had been ripped off.

"No bride and groom should be made to feel this gut-wrenching situation."

Another victim impact statement said the situation left them "anxious and unable to trust people".

Miss Dale said Smith was someone who had no previous convictions and was "highly remorseful" of her actions.

Miss Dale said: "It was something she succeeded in to start with. But she started to rob Peter to pay Paul and gambling online to sort out her financial difficulties."

She added Smith is using a financial charity to pay back her debts and had stopped gambling.