A couple who emigrated to Australia are locked in a legal dispute with an Epping removal company after claiming items worth thousands of pounds were lost in transit.

Timothy and Victoria Watts in June hired Pretlove Removal and Storage Company, in Ongar Road, to transport a consignment of possessions, including antiques and furniture, from their home in Kelvedon to shipping company OSS World Wide Movers.

But when the shipment arrived in Sydney on October 20, the couple said only around a third of their property, worth an estimated £20,000, had been delivered.

Items lost include a number of antiques and objects of sentimental value, including a painting they bought on their honeymoon in Tuscany.

OSS has been contacted for comment.

Mr and Mrs Watts insist Pretlove confirmed all the goods were collected, but the whereabouts of the lost property remains a mystery.

Mrs Watts, a corporate legal advisor, is now preparing to launch legal proceedings against the company.

Company director Adrian Pretlove said the matter was being dealt with, but declined to comment on the allegations that the removal company is responsible for the lost property.

He added: “We are dealing with the matter. It has been put to our insurers.

“We are a family business and we have always dealt with matters in the proper way."

For more on this story, see this week's Guardian - out Thursday