A former employee of failed airline Excelsis – whose boss, Victor Bassey, was exposed last week by The Northern Echo – has revealed the moment she knew the company had collapsed. Joe Willis reports

VICKY WILTSHIRE thought the Jobcentre Plus website advert was too good to be true.

Excelsis – a new airline based in Darlington – wanted a personal assistant for its chief executive.

The wages were £22,000 a year plus a company car.

Ms Wiltshire, of Henry Street, Redcar, east Cleveland, was about to finish a temporary contract with Teesside University and thought her luck was in when she was offered the job by company founder Victor Bassey at the beginning of last month.

Last week, The Northern Echo revealed that Mr Bassey had left a trail of debts and unpaid wages across the North- East after launching a string of companies.

However, Ms Wiltshire had no idea that in little over a month, the company, which aimed to restore flights to London from Durham Tees Valley Airport, would also collapse.

She said: “Because there was nobody else, I set up the systems for when other people came in.

“He had me looking for flats for when people moved here or finding which company cars would be best for VAT.”

When pay day arrived, the employees asked for their money.

Ms Wiltshire said: “Victor would say ‘I’ll get you the money’ or ‘Meet me at the bank and I’ll sort it out’.

“He was so believable and so nice. He was a great boss until it came to pay day.”

The staff say they did not get their wages and by now, suppliers were also chasing the company for their money.

It was Ms Wiltshire’s job to speak to them.

She said: “Victor kept speaking to people from the bank on his mobile phone, but I do not actually think there was somebody on the other end.

“He would be speaking to people and I would think ‘I’m sure I didn’t hear the phone ring’.”

The company effectively collapsed on Tuesday, October 6, when Mr Bassey disappeared from the unit they had rented at Springboard Business Centre, in Stokesley, North Yorkshire.

He went to the back of the offices for a meeting with a man he said was a Swedish airline official.

The two remaining members of staff heard a door slam. Mr Bassey had gone, along with his phone, laptop and the mysterious visitor.

Ms Wiltshire handed back the keys to the offices that night.

She knew then it was over.

She said: “He was a man of God. Well I hope God was watching.”

There is a silver lining to the cloud caused by Mr Bassey.

Her experiences have given Ms Wiltshire the confidence to set up her own business offering virtual office services, including her own website – vickywiltshire.com She said: “As my husband says, I can now be a virtual assistant because I have worked for a virtual airline.”

Police are investigating the company’s collapse.

Mr Bassey’s whereabouts last night remained unknown.