MEMBERS of a Gwynedd dance group could be set to lose nearly £13,000 following the collapse of travel group Thomas Cook.

27 young girls from Ysgol Dawns Anti Karen in Caernarfon had been invited to dance on Broadway in New York next July - with over 100 members in total booking flights through the travel firm.

The group was set to travel Stateside to perform on a show put on by Smile Productions. When owner Karen Pritchard contacted Thomas Cook on September 20, due to concerns over press reports regarding the company’s financial status, she says she was initially reassured that it was “media speculation”.

The spokesperson also told Mrs Pritchard that her flights would be “unaffected and continue to operate as normal”.

However, just days later, the 52-year-old received the news that Thomas Cook had collapsed, leaving the groups' trip of a lifetime hanging in the balance.

"It's been a huge upset for us but we are still hoping to take the 27 girls who were invited to perform over to the US," Karen said.

"Due to Thomas Cook's collapse, we stand to lose around £12,726. All I can say is - shame on them for telling me just days before that everything was fine.

"We are still very much hoping that we can get the money back. I personally have lost money and so have the girls' parents which upsets me even more. It feels like it's all my fault, even though I know it isn't.

"If I don't get an e-mail back from my bank over the next few days, I will have to go in to my branch and get some sort of answer.We don't want to cancel this trip as it would be a real shame for the girls to miss out on such an opportunity."

The group’s travel arrangements were not ATOL protected since they bought just their flights through the travel provider. The group are now looking to re-book through Virgin but admit they may need to do some fundraising to help get them there.