Troubled holiday operator MyTravel moved to quash concerns that customers were pulling out of holidays in the wake of its financial difficulties.

The group, which includes Hove-based Panorama and Manos Holidays, said there was no evidence of cancellations on holidays booked under a deferred deposit promotion launched in the summer.

Under the promotion, MyTravel took bookings for holidays without any advance payment.

People were instead asked to pay either £50 or £110 by last week, depending on whether they bought an economy or premium package.

The number of deposits to be taken is believed to run into hundreds of thousands, although MyTravel would not confirm this.

MyTravel's recent fin-ancial problems caused concerns that customers would switch to rival operators.

But MyTravel said there was no evidence of cancellations.

A spokeswoman said: "Deposits have been collected in accordance with the company's expectations. There is no evidence of cancellations and the company is pleased."

The firm could not say how many people had paid deposits. It is expected further details will be given when it announces full-year results later this month.

MyTravel, whose brands include Going Places and Airtours, has seen its shares tumble amid a stream of bad news.

The Manchester-based group has been hit by three profits warnings in the space of five months.

In its last warning, it shocked the City by cutting its profits targets by another £20 million and warning of a potential £30 million accounting charge.

The update came a week after chief executive Tim Byrne left the business.

Shares, which were hit a high this year of 283.5p, have sunk to a low of 14.75p.

MyTravel has 27,900 employees in total, of which 14,000 are in the UK where it has 720 branches.