SUSAN Hardman says she was ‘devastated’ by the disappearance of her daughter-in-law’s handmade wedding dress after taking it to be cleaned.

The expensive bespoke dress was taken by Mrs Hardman to Johnsons cleaners in Wilmslow in February, along with a veil and jacket.

After lockdown restrictions were eased Mrs Hardman called Johnsons in July to be told the dress had not yet been cleaned.

Two weeks later they phoned her to say it had gone missing.

Mrs Hardman, from Buxton, wrote to the CEO of Johnsons about the disappearance of the dress, which her daughter-in-law wore at her wedding in January, asking him to ensure staff did everything possible to find it.

She said her letter initiated an investigation by the customer support manager, but despite this the dress has still not been found.

Johnsons has processed a refund on Mrs Hardman’s cleaning costs, and sent a compensation form to her to complete.

Knutsford Guardian:

The missing veil and jacket. Picture by @rosiehardyweddings

However her priority is the return of the dress, which she is still hoping will be found.

Mrs Hardman said: “On February 13 I took my daughter-in-law’s valuable, bespoke and handmade wedding dress, veil, and jacket to Johnsons cleaners in Wilmslow.

“Following lockdown I phoned Johnsons to see if the dress had been cleaned, and they told me it had not yet been cleaned. Two weeks later they told me it had gone missing.

“Between then and now the dress has disappeared. I felt that no real effort was being made to find it.

“We were simply told to fill in a claim form. There was no appreciation for what losing a wedding dress meant.”

Mrs Hardman wrote to the CEO of Johnsons last month.

In her letter she said: “On July 6 after lockdown finished I phoned the shop in Wilmslow to ask about the dress, and was told it had not been cleaned yet due to a backlog.

“A couple of weeks later the shop phoned me to say the dress had gone missing.”

She said the firm’s customer services department told her to fill in a compensation form, but she stressed that she wanted the dress back.

She said: “The bespoke dress was handmade and was very expensive.

“We are devastated at the loss of the dress, and angry that no-one seems to be trying very hard to find the dress.”

At the beginning of this month she was emailed by Johnson’s customer support department to say the company had ‘exhausted all avenues’ in trying to locate the wedding dress, without success.

She was told: “I cannot imagine what your daughter in-law feels at this moment, and I am sincerely sorry for the upset this has caused.

“We will not stop searching for the dress and [will] contact you immediately if we can locate it.”

Johnsons was approached by the Guardian for a comment.