THE Government has moved to wind up two holiday companies which enticed hundreds of North and East Yorkshire residents to sales promotions with the promise of a free holiday.

Trade Secretary Stephen Byers presented a petition in the High Court for Step Management Ltd and Timeplan Projects Ltd - owned by Global Discovery Club - to be wound up "in the public interest".

The court appointed the Official Receiver as provisional liquidator, pending a hearing on October 4.

The Department of Trade and Industry said that Step and Timeplan traded in the promotion of a holiday club owned by an associated company (the Global Discovery Club), by cold-calling members of the public and offering 'free' holidays in exchange for attendance at a sales promotion.

It said Step traded from Global House in Manchester, while Timeplan previously traded from that address but now traded from Perth in Scotland.

Step were involved in telephoning people at home, telling them they had won a free holiday and all they had to do to collect it was to turn up to Global Vacations' offices in Barleycorn Yard, Walmgate, York.

People who attended the presentation were told they just had to pay an "administration fee", typically £39 per person, to get their holiday from Timeplan, trading as Escape.

But many readers have called the Press in recent days to say they are still waiting for their vacation, up to a year after handing over their admin fees.

The Government's move appears to crush any remaining hope that they will eventually get their holiday or a refund from Escape.

Some people attending the presentations handed over up to £5,000 to join Global Vacation's Global Discovery Club, expecting a lifetime of cheap luxury holidays in return.

Many are still waiting for their membership packs, while others have had big problems getting the holidays they wanted, and the club's headquarters in Manchester closed down recently.

It is understood that DTI investigations into other aspects of Global's activities are continuing.

Global Discovery Club (Scotland) Ltd said last week it was offering to "service" the holidays of members of the English Discovery Club, which it said was a totally different entity. The Evening Press was unable to contact the club today.

York's head of trading standards Colin Rumford, who has been collating scores of complaints about Global, said that customers who had paid out for their "free" holiday would become unsecured creditors if the firm went into liquidation, and would be bottom of the pecking order if any assets were divided.