as a rum'n at is...

and why did the police suspect aeson?

Haregoo...

But in reality, all was not well in Mr Foster's life.

In 2006, two men were cleared of blackmailing him at Shrewsbury Crown Court.

And court papers show his business was in trouble to such an extent that by August last year, Ulva was put in the hands of administrators. It was facing debts of around ?450,000 and an unpaid tax bill of ?835,000.

Six weeks later, the company went into liquidation.

A judge later found Mr Foster had spent the previous months stripping Ulva of its assets and transferring them to a new firm he had set up called Ulva International.

In May Lord Justice Rimer, in the Court of Appeal, said Mr Foster had transferred all Ulva's raw materials, goods, plant, equipment, customers, employees and intellectual property to his new company.

Mr Foster had also transferred Ulva's trademark for ?10 and owed the firm at least ?350,000, the judge said.

The judge described Mr Foster as "not to be trusted".

"The administrators were attempting to negotiate with someone, Mr Foster, whom they knew to be bereft of the basic instincts of commercial morality," he said.

Lord Justice Rimer ruled that Mr Foster and the administrators were jointly liable for the legal costs of DRC, one of Ulva's suppliers which was owed almost ?1m and had wanted to buy the firm. The ruling in May followed a series of court cases.

Ulva remains in liquidation.

Despite his problems, neighbours say Mr Foster still appeared happy.

Builder Gordon Richards said: "When I saw Chris a few days ago, he seemed happy, but he said he was feeling the pinch at work because of the credit crunch."

As recently as Monday, Mr Foster and his family were enjoying a party at a friend's house.

But by the following morning, fire was engulfing their mansion. Their beloved horses were dead and their dogs were missing.

Today, all that remains of Mr Foster's dream of life in the country is his charred home.

Meanwhile, his family and friends wait anxiously for news.

Full story
User Posted Link

Posted By: sixthgo, Aug 28, 20:01:01