Stag party members, who were conned out of £13,000 when the bride-to-be allegedly pretended to book their trip to Ibiza before vanishing with the cash, have instead flown to Magaluf, leaving the heartbroken groom at home.
Chris Mahone, 27, let his fiancee Rachel Doran, 29, organise the four-day trip for him and 29 friends ahead of their wedding.
She allegedly charged the revellers £440 each and provided them with fake boarding passes and documents appearing to be from a local travel agency.
Chris Mahone, right, was left stranded at Leeds-Bradford airport after his fiancee Rachel Doran allegedly pretended to book his stag holiday before running off with the money
Mr Mahone’s friends have gone to Magaluf anyway after booking onto a last-minute flight to the party hotspot
Sources claim Ms Doran was motivated by revenge as she wrongly believed her partner had cheated on her
The group was on the way to Leeds-Bradford airport when they realised they had been conned by 29-year-old Rachel Doran, sources claimed.
Meanwhile Ms Doran has fled the couple’s home in Cumbria and is said to have gone into hiding in a caravan park.
Some of the revellers refused to be denied a holiday and instead flew off to Magaluf.
The men were pictured sunning it up at a hotel at the party hotspot.
Nine of the original group spent £400 each on the spontaneous trip in a bid to ‘make the best out of a bad situation’ after their stag-do trip was revealed to be a fake.
But Mr Mahone himself was not in the mood to join his friends and instead returned home to Cumbria.
Pictured left in Magaluf are Mr Mahone’s friends (bottom to top) Tom Mahone, Callum Birdsall, Nigel Green, Leigh Dunn and Adam Meagan. Right, Nigel and Callum are seen in Magaluf
Tom Mahone and Nigel Green are pictured enjoying their last-minute holiday to Magaluf
One of the revellers on the trip told MailOnline: ‘After we found out about the holiday we went inside the airport, went to the desk and asked if there were any flights to Benidorm or Magaluf.
‘They offered us £150 return so we said ‘f*** it, we’re off to Magaluf’. To be honest we haven’t even booked a flight back.
‘We’re just drinking loads all day today. Chris is the nicest person in the world, I just can’t believe it’s happened to him.
The couple were believed to be having a £5,000 wedding in their hometown of Cleator Moor
‘People back home are absolutely devastated. We’re just trying to make the best out of a bad situation. We’re devastated like.’
Sources told The Sun that the bride-to-be was motivated by revenge, believing her partner had cheated on her, a claim his friends denied.
One of them said: ‘She’s taken £13,000 from us for a stag do that didn’t even exist.
‘Some of us only earn £200 a week and have been saving since March. It’s scandalous.’
Distraught Mr Mahone, who works at the Sellafield nuclear plant, posted an emotional message on Facebook in which he apologised to his friends.
He wrote: ‘Words cannot describe the pain and feelings that are playing with my head today.
‘I totally want to apologise to all my fantastic mates that were gonna celebrate what was supposed to be my stag do.
‘I can’t apologise enough. I’m sorry boys I really am.’
The groom-to-be’s pals responded with messages of support.
One wrote: ‘You have nothing to apologise for bro.’
Some of his friends even posted a series of altered pictures in which they mocked Ms Doran.
One showed her face superimposed on to a film poster for the 1999 film Runaway Bride while another showed her holding a $11,000 cheque emblazoned with the words ‘Stag do fund’.
Mr Mahone apologised to his friends in an emotional Facebook post
A picture posted by one of Mr Mahone’s friends shows Ms Doran’s face superimposed on a Runaway Bride film poster
Another photo shows the bride holding an $11,000 cheque marked for the ‘stag do fund’
Mr Mahone had clearly been looking forward to his holiday and posted ‘anyone fancy Ibiza’ ahead of the trip.
After realising what had happened, nine of the party chose to fly to Malaga instead but the groom remained in Leeds.
The couple were believed to be planning a £5,000 wedding in their hometown of Cleator Moor.
One relative said the family was ‘devastated’ after the farce, adding: ‘(Chris) thought she was the most amazing fiancée ever, for organising the stag and everything.’
One of Mr Mahone’s friends, who has gone on the trip to Magaluf, told MailOnline: ‘We had the stag do planned for a year now. We were meant to be going on Thursday 7th September.
‘We all met up in our local club at 10pm and we were on the drink before getting the bus at midnight.
‘We got within 15 minutes of Leeds-Bradford airport then the best man came to the back and said ‘listen lads, there’s no holiday’.
‘We were so shocked, we couldn’t believe it was real. There was no evidence of us booking and no space on flight so obviously his girlfriend had done a runner with all the money.
‘Everyone had been paying money to the best man and groom then they were giving it to her pay off – but she was banking all the money.
‘Chris was absolutely devastated, he felt he let his mates down really.
‘You couldn’t believe what we were feeling. It was absolutely crazy, we were shocked and we couldn’t cope. A lot of the lads had saved all year for it as well.
‘Chris is the nicest person in the world, I just can’t believe it’s happened to him.
‘Hopefully he’s chucked all her stuff out on the road but apparently she’s done a runner.’
There was no answer at the semi detached house Rachel had shared with Chris and neighbours said they had not been seen for some time.
A relative of Rachel’s said: ‘I work with her mum. She was very upset when she found out.
‘There is a family rift but Rachel still talks to her mum and dad – at least she did before this happened.’