VICTIMS of the sudden closure of a chain of estate agents included Michelle Bridgland - the Bolton teenager battling to beat life-threatening anorexia.

Michelle's parents Steven and Lynn had hoped to sell their house through Dillons estate agents so they could be nearer their daughter, who is receiving treatment in a specialist clinic near London.

But just days after the couple accepted an offer for their Lostock home, Dillons branch in Bolton closed without warning leaving the family in limbo.

Today Michelle's dad Steven slammed the company which wooed hundreds of customers with the slogan: Bringing the Housing Market into the 21st Century.

"We just don't know where we stand now," said Mr Bridgland. "We wanted to sell so we could rent places in Bolton and London. It would have allowed us to be much more flexible in seeing Michelle in the clinic.

"But after accepting an offer we just couldn't get hold of anyone at Dillons until we read in the BEN that the branch had closed. I think it's incredibly unprofessional of the company not to give us any warning whatsoever." Mr Bridgland said his daughter, who nearly died after her weight plummeted to five stone, was slowly recovering at a specialist eating disorder clinic in Berkshire.

But he has now been forced to pin his hopes of selling his home to his potential buyers through a solicitor.

"The whole thing is a mess and a huge inconvenience," he said. "We hope the deal can be saved but Dillons certainly won't be getting any fee."

Other Bolton folk buying and selling homes through Dillons also told of their shock and anger today.

The estate agents had been trying to sell 78-year-old Clara Green's home in Breightmet after the widow moved to sheltered accommodation in Fairmount Avenue.

But Mrs Green's daughter, Elsa Atkinson, said company staff had given her mum no warning they were closing and the firm still had the house keys.

"She's worried sick that someone will go in without her knowledge," said Elsa.

Mum of two Nicola Charleston, aged 34, who is selling her £29,995 house in Marion Street, Great Lever, said the first she'd known about the closure was when the firm sent her a letter yesterday.

"It's really inconvenient having to start the selling process all over again," she said. "We've not lost anything but I feel so sorry for people who were about to sell or buy when it happened."

John Morton, who put his £31,000 terraced home in Breightmet on the market through Dillons, said the first he knew about the estate agents' demise was through the BEN.

"I think it's terrible we weren't properly informed," he said.

Mum Jeanette Copeland, aged 25, who was hoping to sell her end terrace in Deal Street, Great Lever, said she'd been shocked by the closure.

"They had done really well and generated a lot of interest in our property," she said, "but now we'll have to start all over again." Dillons boss 'to focus on building firm' MORE details emerged today about why Dillons had suddenly closed.

Staff said Paul Kiely, who owned the business, had decided to withdraw financial support to concentrate on his building firm, Kiely Developments, a company which recently strongly denied allegations of shoddy workmanship in a TV documentary, Builders From Hell.

Mark Greenwood, manager at Dillons' branch in Blackburn, said: "The business was doing extremely well but Mr Kiely decided to put his money into Kiely Developments."

The businessman's decision has meant the demise of the estate agents' head office in Bradshawgate, Bolton, as well as bases in Bury and Rochdale.

Plans for branches in Burnley and Wigan were also scrapped, but the office in Blackburn was saved after a staff buy-out was agreed.

Mr Kiely was still unavailable for comment today despite repeated attempts from the BEN to contact him to ask why so little warning had been given about the closure.

A member of staff at his Bury office said: "I'm not sure where he is or when he'll be back."

In a letter to customers yesterday, Dillons said its branch in Bolton had shut "due to unforseen circumstances".

It added: "I apologise for any inconvenience caused and wish you luck in selling your home."

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