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Families in South Wales are demanding answers after their elderly relatives invested huge sums in a South African hotel.

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Former Swansea stockbroker and financial advisor John Evans advised clients to invest in the 听Everglades Hotel just 70 miles from Durban. But he was also the hotel's owner.

One investor was grandmother of six, Gladys Gough, aged 96. Her daughter Maddy said her mum first went to John Evans for financial advice nine years ago.听 They then invested in the hotel through John Evans鈥� company, Diversified Investment Alliance Ltd. But Maddy said John Evans didn't tell them that the hotel was already in financial trouble.

She said: "He certainly thought in a five year investment plan would bring a good return on the investment capital that was put into it."

Gladys invested nearly a quarter of a million pounds into Everglades, but the promised returns never materialised. Maddy has been trying for years to get her mum's money back.

鈥淚've had some communication with John about what is going on, and the information is very, very vague,鈥� she said.

Tracy Pead is in a similar position. 听John Evans advised her elderly father Glyn Sanders, who'd worked for much of his life as a vet near Cwmbran, to begin investing in Everglades in 2005. He put around 拢150,000 into the hotel. The family began chasing Mr Evans for information in 2012 when their father went into hospital. Glyn died five years ago and, despite repeatedly asking John Evans for his money back, his family still haven't had a penny.听

Tracey said: 鈥淚 just feel now that that money has gone forever and his grandchildren will never get it.鈥�

In total, John Evans advised around 40 people to invest anywhere between one million and two point two million pounds in the business.听 He says he always explained the risks involved and made it clear that he was the owner.

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John Evans听bought the hotel in 2005. X-Ray has learnt that Everglades had a massive mortgage on it, so it seems the investors鈥� cash hadn't paid directly for the hotel. The hotel was losing money and by 2009 it was struggling to pay the mortgage.

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Lyn Clelland managed Everglades for John Evans for nearly a decade. She says the hotel was struggling financially.

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Lyn said: 鈥淎bsolutely not a safe investment at all. Generally speaking, it was never, never a sound business."

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Mr Evans planned to redevelop the site as a retirement and residential complex to get investors their money back, but the scheme came to nothing.听 Debts forced Everglades into liquidation in 2015 and then again a year later. 听In December 2016, the hotel was finally sold in a liquidation auction. It raised half of what John Evans had bought the hotel for a decade earlier, with all the money going to pay off debts. It appears there was nothing left to pay back investors in Wales.

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X-Ray asked John Evans to respond. 听He claimed we had been misled by a disgruntled former staff member, and that a number of the points we wrote to him about were grossly inaccurate. Mr Evans said the sale of the hotel has still not been finalised, making it difficult for him to report back in detail to his investors in Wales. He told us that he's currently negotiating with his bank and a company from South Africa to secure substantial funds for his shareholders and investors. He also claimed that the police had conducted an investigation into the financial activities of his company without cause for concern.

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There are all sorts of systems in place to make sure we don鈥檛 stay too long in car parks, from parking wardens to ANPR cameras that read your number place as you enter and leave a car park.

In February, Grace Hopkins parked in a Llantrisant shopping centre. She was seven months pregnant, and was there for a coffee and a chat with friends. But when she got back to her car she discovered one of the tyres was flat.

She said, 鈥淭he alloy was right down to the floor so, I was just gutted. It was raining, it was dark, and I just thought this鈥�might be a while now till I get home.鈥�

While she was waiting for her partner to come and change the tyre, Grace phoned the parking firm, Smart Parking, to tell them she鈥檇 been forced to go over their four hour time limit at the shopping centre. But it was Sunday afternoon and their office was closed.

Grace called again the next day and managed to speak to someone from the company, but says they weren鈥檛 very reassuring. They told her there was nothing they could do to stop the 拢90 parking charge being sent out and that she鈥檇 just have to wait for it to arrive in the post.

She immediately appealed, sending in a photo of her flat tyre and a doctor鈥檚 notes confirming her pregnancy. But the morning she got back from hospital after having her son, Walter, she found a letter from Smart Parking telling her they鈥檇 rejected her appeal.

She said, 鈥淚 was stressed out about that when I should have been focussing on Walter. It was a really a really happy time for the three of us and it was just really upsetting.鈥�

Grace felt she had no option but to pay the charge.

Vicky Hussey, who lives near Cardigan, is another mum who has had problems with Smart Parking. Her partner Lee dropped off Vicky, who was pregnant, and three of their children at a retail park in Aberystwyth last November. He then drove away and left their car at a nearby garage for a service.

Vicky said: 鈥淟ee came back and met me in the shopping centre. We did our Christmas shopping, and went to get the car back afterwards after about four or five hours.鈥�

But later Lee drove their newly-serviced car back to the shopping centre to pick up another family member. A few weeks later a parking charge notice for 拢80 landed on their doormat, claiming they鈥檇 over-stayed at the car park. Smart Parking鈥檚 ANPR cameras had apparently missed their car leaving the car park the first time, on its way to the garage, but then spotted it when Lee came back the second time.

鈥淲hen you've got three kids and one on the way it was a bit stressful and of course Christmas as well you don't have the money to pay it,鈥� Vicky said.

Smart Parking passed the charge onto a debt collection company and the bill went up to 拢160.

Vicky said, 鈥淚 just wanted to be left alone, so I paid the 拢80 and the woman said to me that she'd take the next 拢80 the next month that it was all set up to be taken, they didn't take it and then they sent me another letter then demanding for the 拢80 and that it was going to be taken to court.鈥�

X-Ray contacted Smart Parking about both Grace and Vicky鈥檚 cases. The company has now cancelled both charges. They say they hadn't initially received all the information about why Grace had overstayed, and once they did they cancelled the charge as an act of goodwill. They say that Vicky only appealed after they'd passed the matter to a debt recovery firm, and once they'd considered the full facts they cancelled that, too.