THE company charged with bringing Island Con to the Isle of Wight, Alliance Conventions, has gone bust meaning it will not be returning here in 2019.

In a lengthy statement on the company's website, it says the event staged at Cowes Enterprise College had incurred a large financial loss and losses had also occurred at a previous event.

In the statement, the company said: "There has been a campaign of negativity and slander on certain social media outlets and specific Facebook-only groups that has pulled the rug out from under the event.

"This has led to a large subversion of company finances by way of forced refunds, subversion tactics, hate campaigns and the spread of malicious untruths.

"We came to the Island because we had a vision to create something new and fantastical, a big new event for the island. Our only aim was to bring people and certain communities together and we had mostly achieved that.

"We made some teething mistakes along the way and have been publicly punished for these errors, mostly by those we provided the platform for, which is heartbreaking.

"As the support dropped, the rumours grew and although we made mistakes along the way, we had lost control of the rumour mill and at the finality we could not say anything that would have changed it. We could not fight rumours and hate with truth. For that and for the situation we find the company in, we are sorry.

The statement goes on: "Every company associated with Alliance Conventions have been affected and will also seek insolvency and to be struck off from the company register.

"Every person associated with the company is no longer employed or contracted out. Remaining owed creditors will have payment plans set up with them and will be contacted by a company representative. Any outstanding claims can be tendered to Alliance Conventions through the official insolvency channels once that process is taking place.

"To those who supported the event through thick and thin, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. To the thousands who will miss this event and the employees that we now lose, we are sorry, we gave everything but our lives to the event and to the company."