Imagine spending ages hunting down your dream wedding dress, finding it, paying a small fortune for it and then, when you go to collect it, finding that the dress shop has closed. A nightmare scenario for any bride!

Well, it's something that recently happened to 170 women in England. The shop they bought their dress from unexpectedly closed its doors last month, after just two years of trading.

It's been an enormous shock for the brides affected and and some of them are so angry they have sent death threats to the shop owner, Lisa Clarkson, who has gone into hiding.

Sadly, there will be no refunds and no wedding dresses for the dress-less brides, leaving some women scrambling to find a dress just days before their wedding, and paying a fortune for a last-minute replacement.

The worrying thing is, could this happen to you? With the current economic downturn, more and more businesses are feeling the pinch so it pays to be aware and take some steps to protect yourself:

• Buy from a well-known, reputable dress shop rather than one with a short and unknown trading history.
• Don't pay for your dress in full, in advance.
• Collect your dress as soon as possible after you have paid for it, rather than leaving it until just before your wedding day.