Refunds as The Salt Path author pulls out of tour

Refunds have been given to some customers after The Salt Path author Raynor Winn pulled out of a tour amid claims about the authenticity of her best-selling book.

Winn was due to be in Shrewsbury on Friday on the Saltlines tour, a "prose and music collaboration" where she appeared alongside a folk band.

But since a report in The Observer alleged the author made some inaccurate claims in relation to elements of her 2018 bestseller she has withdrawn from live appearances. She denied the claims and said she was taking legal advice.

On Wednesday, Winn hit back again at The Observer's allegations, responding in detail on her website.

The Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury confirmed some refunds had been handed out.

But the "vast majority of the audience have chosen to retain their tickets", a spokesperson added.

Gigspanner Big Band, whose members have been touring with Winn in Saltlines, said in a statement it was "very important" their performances went ahead, and they would instead present their new album.

They are in discussions with all venues on the tour and said Shrewsbury, Liverpool, Nottingham, Norwich and Chipping Campden dates would go ahead.

An event at the Waterside in Sale, Greater Manchester, has been cancelled.

The Salt Path, and its recent film adaptation, tells the story of a couple who decide to walk the 630-mile South West Coast Path after their home is repossessed.

The Observer alleged Winn had misrepresented some of the events that led to the couple losing their home.

Rather than losing money in a bad business deal, as the book described, the newspaper said the couple had lost their home after Winn had defrauded her employer of £64,000.

According to the Observer, the couple borrowed £100,000 to pay back the money Winn had been accused of stealing, and it was when this loan was called in that their home was repossessed.

It also said it had spoken to medical experts who were sceptical about her husband Moth having corticobasal degeneration (CBD) as she described in the book, given his long survival after diagnosis, lack of acute symptoms and his apparent ability to reverse them.

On Wednesday, publishing house Penguin has said it "undertook all the necessary due diligence" before releasing The Salt Path.

It also stated it had not received any concerns about the book's content prior to the Observer's story, and that it had a contract with Winn regarding factual accuracy.

Winn has said her book "lays bare the physical and spiritual journey Moth and I shared, an experience that transformed us completely and altered the course of our lives. This is the true story of our journey."

In a lengthy statement posted on her website on Wednesday, she provided documents that appeared to confirm her husband Moth had previously been diagnosed with CBD.

She also stood by her description of how the couple came to lose their house and denied the couple had any outstanding debts.

However, Winn acknowledged making "mistakes" in business earlier in her career, after the Observer said she had defrauded her previous employer of £64,000. She said it had been a pressured time.

"Any mistakes I made during the years in that office, I deeply regret, and I am truly sorry," she said, but added the case had been settled between her and her ex-employer on a "non-admissions basis" and although she was questioned by the police, she was not charged.

BBC News has contacted the journalist who wrote the Observer article for a response.

A Theatre Severn spokeswoman said the venue was informed by the band's management that Winn had withdrawn from the Saltlines tour.

They provided the theatre with a statement from Winn's legal team which said the recent press coverage had been "highly misleading" and that Winn was "taking legal advice and will not be making any further comment at this time".

"She is deeply sorry to let down those who were planning to attend the Saltlines tour," it added.