FRIENDS are raising funds for newlyweds whose stash of wedding cash was stolen on their special day.

Laura and Anthony Gaisford were 'gutted' to realise someone had rummaged through their wedding cards and ripped money from inside, with an estimated worth of £1,600.

The couple, who live in Bicester, left a miniature postbox full of congratulation cards overnight after the wedding, at the venue Bicester Hotel Golf and Spa.

Mrs Gaisford, a ward manager within Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: "It was a perfect day but this has completely tainted it. It's been really upsetting.

"Obviously we were absolutely gutted."

She and 38-year-old lorry driver Mr Gaisford stayed over at the hotel after they said 'I do', leaving the postbox in a storage room before taking it home the next day.

They sat down that night to write their thank-you list, but realised something was wrong after noticing many cards had already been torn open, and some were missing altogether.

Mrs Gaisford said she was 'mortified' that people's generosity had been wasted, and fears someone managed to empty cards from the box while it was in the hotel and rifle through them.

Many friends and family members had given the couple cash to fund a honeymoon with their two sons Max, five, and 18-month-old Oliver.

The wedding took place in May but they have since been unable to afford the trip.

Friends have now set up a JustGiving page in hope of gifting them with enough funds, which Mrs Gaisford heralded as a 'lovely' gesture.

She added: "We've never taken the kids abroad and this was an opportunity to take them somewhere we might not normally be able to.

"We just wanted to take them somewhere nice."

The couple, who grew up in Marston in Oxford, met at The Cherwell School and later rekindled their romance after bumping into each other at a Bicester pub.

They have been together for 12 years and now live in Southwold in the north of the town.

Mrs Gaisford said she and her husband felt let-down by the hotel and claimed it had refused to take any responsibility or offer an apology.

Thames Valley Police confirmed its officers are still investigating theft, and that no arrests have been made.

Staff at the hotel in Chesterton declined to comment.