FAMILIES who have given their savings to a North-East father and son have told of their heartache.

Gary Upson and his son, Ryan, are being investigated by Durham Police's fraud squad after disappearing from their horse wagon business in Banks Road, Darlington.

Last night, detectives were no closer to tracing the pair, who vanished with hundreds of thousands of pounds of customers' money.

People who paid the Upsons large deposits for customised horse boxes told The Northern Echo they had given up hope of seeing their money again.

Sophie McBain, of Houghton-le-Side, near Darlington, gave the Upsons a wagon worth £26,500 in part-exchange for a new horse box.

"The took it in for repair and said 'we can take this and give you a replacement'," she said. "Stupidly, we agreed and now they have done a runner."

Carol Chester, 47, a nurse from Earlston, Scotland, paid a £10,000 deposit on a wagon for her 12-year-old daughter's horse, but then found it impossible to contact the Upsons.

"It's money that it has taken me a lifetime to get," said Mrs Chester. "It is absolutely cruel."

Angela and Ian Greensitt, from Wakefield, handed over an £8,000 deposit on a wagon last August for their 14-year-old daughter's horse. They also part-exchanged an old wagon, worth £7,000.

Despite repeated visits to the company, the couple never saw the new truck and the stress of losing the cash brought them near to divorce.

"It has been terrible," said Mrs Greensitt. "I blame my husband because I never wanted to go with the Upsons."

Former miner Matt Garnett, from Nottinghamshire, used £10,000 of compensation money he received following a pit accident as a deposit on a horse box for his 15-year-old son Joe's horse.

"My wife works in a shop and I work in a factory and it's a lot of money for us," he said.

Joanna Wiggins, from Lincoln, gave the Upsons a £5,000 deposit in December.

She said: "It was all my savings that I had left. The upset and the frustration of it all has been the worst thing."

High Court officials are seeking the Upsons to issue them with a writ, following a county court judgement.

Trading officers in West Yorkshire and Darlington said they had received complaints about Just Trucks and had advised customers to contact solicitors.