THE owner of the Newport bridal shop that has been criticised of malpractice has spoken of her "hellish nightmare" that led to the store's closure.

Melanie Bishop, 35, says she has been the victim of a campaign of "abuse and lies" after a customer started a Facebook group to voice her concerns about Anna Sara Bridal.

The Argus revealed on Tuesday that numerous brides and brides-to-be have complained about the shop and were panicked when it closed suddenly.

They allege that the owners were unresponsive to their inquiries about their orders just weeks before their weddings.

A Facebook page has so far attracted more than 1,000 users.

Mrs Bishop, of Oakdale, Blackwood, believes that things have 'spiralled out of control' in the wake of the facebook page's creation.

"In the space of three weeks my reputation is in tatters," said Mrs Bishop. "I believe I will lose my house, my livelihood and the business I worked so hard to build up from scratch.

"Me and mum are in bits over this. I haven't stopped crying since it all spiralled out of control."

Mrs Bishop claims that threats of violence and abuse against herself and her mother led to the closure of the shop and the decision to honour all orders from her home.

One of the complainants Nichola Pakau, who is due to get married on Saturday August 20, at the Celtic Manor Resort, said she placed a substantial deposit with the firm for her wedding dress and nine bridesmaids dresses in October 2015.

Now, with less than four weeks to go before her big day, she said she has only received one dress, which she branded 'half-finished'.

"It's affected my home life and work life," said Ms Pakau. "It has just been an awful experience."

The 34-year-old, from Cwmbran, said more than 200 people had contacted her privately since seeing her story on the Facebook group.

Mrs Bishop added: "Most of my brides have said they no longer want to use our shop. They are believing all the lies and vitriol about me and it's simply not true."

According to Mrs Bishop, the dispute started when a bride-to-be discovered that her bespoke handmade dress had come from China.

The owner insists that the designs are her own but admits that the shop could have been 'more explicit' about where the dresses came from.

Mrs Bishop said: "The reality is that these women have rallied together and whipped themselves up into a hysteria that is only based on one thing - the fact that my dress suppliers are based in China.

"It's not uncommon and I never hid it. I left the made in China labels in."

Customers also criticised the 'significant' deposits that they had to put down well in advance of their wedding.

Mrs Bishop admitted that there was a mark up of prices, explaining that the shop pays around £200 for each dress before selling them for between £700-£1000.

She added: "That's how a business operates. That's how I paid my rent, taxes, import fees and overheads but that mark up does not take away from the quality of the product offered."

Trading standards officers are investigating Anna Sara Bridal after receiving complaints from customers.

A spokeswoman for Newport City Council said: "Newport Trading Standards is investigating the business under consumer protection legislation and we are unable to comment further until those investigations are complete."