A CALLOUS Halesowen woman who shattered the dreams of brides-to-be all over the Dudley area when she pocketed the £104,000 they paid out for catering packages and other wedding services, has been jailed for three years.

Lisa Holt, who was motivated by financial gain, left a trail of more than 700 victims - including many parents who paid her for birthday parties for their children.

Judge Barry Berlin ordered the pregnant mother-of-two to pay just £1 compensation because she had no assets as he told her it was clear she had deceived hundreds of customers to her "Bake a Cake" business.

He told the 41-year-old, who had described herself as a "One Stop Wedding Shop" she had shown a blasé attitude to the people who had paid her their "hard earned" money.

"Your failure to deliver would leave customers in a state of despair and you hardened yourself to the anxiety they suffered," said the judge, who also jailed her 42-year-old husband Ryan Holt for nine months.

The judge said her husband had played a "lesser but significant" role in her offending by moving the money sent to "Bake a Cake" into other accounts adding: "It is clear he knew what was going on."

Holt operated an online business but over and over again customers paid for services that were not provided, said Mark Jackson, prosecuting.

He told Wolverhampton Crown Court that an "avalanche" of complaints poured into Dudley's Trading Standards department about Holt, who also defrauded her suppliers.

She also deceived the Wowcher website, claiming she owned 16 photo-booths for use at special events and that she had 16 members of staff.

Holt was taking money knowing there was no chance of her providing services, including chocolate fountains, sweet carts, flowers, decorations and hog roasts.

Mr Jackson said Wowcher was owed nearly £46,000 having refunded customers who had been fleeced by Hold in order to protect their reputation.

She had benefitted from her criminality by £104,000 while her husband had made £57,000 from the crimes but he too was ordered to pay just £1 compensation because he had no assets.

"This was sustained offending over a prolonged period with more than 700 identifiable victims," said Mr Jackson.

"Many of the victims had made bookings for events that were both extremely important and highly significant in their lives - weddings, children's birthdays and significant adult birthdays.

"The stress and anxiety caused to the victims was understandably immense."

The judge said Holt, who walked into court with the aid of two sticks, had to be jailed because he had to take into account the disappointment and anguish suffered by her customers.

When complaints began to pour in, said Mr Jackson, Holt claimed there had been a burglary at the family home in Albert Road, Halesowen, and all her business records had been stolen.

She also maintained she had been the victim of a campaign of intimidation and harassment from competitors and their actions had forced her to close down her business.

Holt pleaded guilty to participating in a fraudulent business and defrauding customers.

She also admitted fraud by false representation against Wowcher.

Her husband admitted one charge of converting criminal property, revolving around the transfer of money between bank accounts.

Nicole Steers, defending Lisa Holt, said she had paid back £14,000 to customers and she accepted she would never be able to repair the damage she had done.

"She accepts what she did was callous," said Miss Steers. "There is nothing that can remedy the loss suffered by her victims."

After the case one of the brides badly hurt by Holt said she now wanted to go through her wedding ceremony again so she could smile on the photographs.

"I just hate what she did," said 32-year-old Carly Armstrong, who lives in Nottingham.

"She was making so many excuses for not coming up with the services I ordered for my wedding.

"I just knew my day was going to be a sham I wanted everything to be perfect and this woman let me and hundreds of others down badly."

The judge told Holt many of her victims had probably been on low incomes and they had suffered badly by her criminality.

He said: "You have shown yourself to be dishonest and callous and you were robbing both Peter and Paul to pay yourself."