A 16-year-old boy's dream was shattered when an alternative gifts company announced it had folded with £12 million debts.

Teenager Lewis Gimple, of Badgers Croft, Seaford, has been playing cricket since he was ten.

He was jubilant when his parents bought him a voucher from Red Letter Days, run by TV celebrity business expert Rachel Elnaugh, to meet former England captain Mike Gatting.

But he discovered on Monday the meeting at Lord's had been cancelled.

Disappointed Lewis said: "I was looking forward to it, so it was really disappointing. It would have been a good experience to meet Mike Gatting. I would have had a session playing in the nets, gone for lunch, and then played on the pitch at Lord's."

Red Letter Days has been bought out of administration by Peter Jones, one of Ms Elnaugh's fellow judges on BBC2's entrepreneurial talent contest Dragons' Den.

He has teamed up with Theo Paphitis, the lingerie retailer and former Millwall Football Club chairman, to rescue the business. But the new owners have said they are uncertain how many customers who bought gift vouchers from Red Letter Days before they took over would have their vouchers honoured.

Lewis plays for Glynde and Beddingham's adult second and third teams and for Sussex County Cricket Club's under-16s.

His parents Tony and Sue bought a voucher from Red Letters Days, a company organising days out including driving a tank, going paintballing or driving a Formula One car at Brands Hatch.

Together with accommodation and a spectator's seat, the outing cost the couple more than £300.

Lewis got the voucher for Christmas but waited until now to use it because his parents were worried about him taking time off school.

His mother Sue said: "It would have been a dream come true for a kid of that age to play at Lords with an England captain."

A second series of Dragons' Den features both Mr Jones and Ms Elnaugh. It will be shown in the autumn.