Covid: Wedding businesses speak of anguish at losing work

Five business owners involved in the wedding industry have spoken of the challenges of keeping afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.

All operating in the East of England, they have told the BBC they lost work as soon as lockdown began and have struggled to get up and running again due to government restrictions.

Ian Evans' venue, Copdock Hall in Suffolk, has not hosted a wedding since March and so far he has lost £250,000 through cancellations.

Photographer Carl Middleditch said: "We're currently looking at a whole year's worth of work just disappearing overnight."

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: "Throughout the pandemic wedding businesses have had access to the government’s extensive package of financial support and we have just announced our Winter Economy Plan, external, which will provide further help in the months ahead."