Sources claim Ms Doran was motivated by revenge as she wrongly believed her partner had cheated on her. Photo / Facebook
Sources claim Ms Doran was motivated by revenge as she wrongly believed her partner had cheated on her. Photo / Facebook
By Joe Sheppard
A stag party were conned out of £13,000 ($23,622) when the groom-to-be's fiancee allegedly pretended to book their holiday to Ibiza before running off with the cash.
Chris Mahone, 27, and his 29 friends made it all the way to Leeds-Bradford airport before they realised they hadbeen conned by 29-year-old Rachel Doran, sources have claimed.
It is alleged she had persuaded Mahone to let her organise the four-day trip and charged each member of the party £440.
Friends claimed she even gave them fake boarding passes and documents that appeared to be from a local tour company, reports Daily Mail.
After being told that their tickets were not valid the group then phoned the hotel where they were supposed to be staying only to be told no booking had been made.
By the time they realised what had happened Doran had vanished from the home she shared with Mahone near Whitehaven, Cumbria.
Sources told the Sun the bride-to-be was motivated by revenge, believing her partner had cheated on her, a claim his friends denied.
One of them said: "She's taken £13,000 from us for a stag do that didn't even exist.
"Some of us only earn £200 a week and have been saving since March. It's scandalous."
The couple were believed to be having a £5,000 ($NZD9085) wedding in their hometown of Cleator Moor. Photo / Facebook
Distraught Mahone, who works at the Sellafield nuclear plant, posted an emotional message on Facebook in which he apologised to his friends.
He wrote: "Words cannot describe the pain and feelings that are playing with my head today.
"I totally want to apologise to all my fantastic mates that were gonna celebrate what was supposed to be my stag do.
"I can't apologise enough. I'm sorry boys I really am."
The groom-to-be's pals responded with messages of support.
One wrote: "You have nothing to apologise for bro."
Some of his friends even posted a series of altered pictures in which they mocked Doran.
One showed her face superimposed on to a film poster for the 1999 film Runaway Bride and another showed her holding a £11,000 cheque emblazoned with the words "Stag do fund".
Mahone had clearly been looking forward to his holiday and posted "anyone fancy Ibiza" ahead of the trip.
After realising what had happened, nine of the party chose to fly to Malaga instead but the groom remained in Leeds.
The couple were believed to be planning a £5,000 wedding in their hometown of Cleator Moor.
One relative said the family was devastated after the farce, adding: "[Chris] thought she was the most amazing fiancee ever, for organising the stag and everything."
