Roxanne Gray was named and pictured on the British Canine Academy website when it went live earlier this year.

She is believed to have set up the new company with her brother, Ben Nichols.

Mr Nichols is the former owner of the failed Dog Training College, which had offices at Broadland Business Park in Norwich.

The company entered liquidation in January, owing creditors more than £800,000.

Ms Gray said she was previously employed by the firm, working in sales, and claims that she is not involved with newly-formed British Canine Academy in any way.

Both her name and picture have since been removed from the website.

Roxanne Gray said she was a former employee at Dog Training College, working in sales. She has denied any involvement with a new company, British Canine Academy, despite previously being named as 'founder and CEO' on its website. (Image: Dog Training College)

“I don’t own the company, I’m nothing to do with it and don’t have any involvement,” she said.

“I was potentially going to be involved with it, but I chose not to be. I was considering being the public-facing person of the business, but I chose not to go ahead with it.

She added “it wasn’t me that put it on the website” but did not say who did.

When asked who is running British Canine Academy, she said: “There is an owner, but I’m not in a position to disclose their identity.”

Roxanne Gray was previously named as British Canine Academy's 'founder and CEO', which has now been removed from its website. (Image: Supplied)

Dog Training College closed at the end of last year, leaving students who paid £2,000 for online courses to become qualified trainers out of pocket.

An update on its website says: "The Dog Training College brand has been acquired and is under new ownership.

"The new team is currently in the process of restoring systems, reactivating course access and reviewing student records following the liquidation of the previous business."

When asked about this, Ms Gray said: “New owners have acquired the assets of the business. I don’t know their full names or anything like that, but I know there are new owners that have bought it and have promised to give students everything, so they haven’t lost out.”

Dog Training College was based at Broadland Business Park in Norwich (Image: Newsquest)

She said she has found a new full-time job, which is not associated with either Dog Training College or British Canine Academy.

On its website, British Canine Academy describes itself as an "education provider and national network for dog professionals", providing training courses and its own "BCA-approved" accreditation for qualified trainers.

There are currently no courses listed on its site, despite a dozen five-star reviews recommending the company and its courses being posted on Trustpilot since December - the same month Dog Training College effectively ceased trading.

In a reply to one of seven one-star reviews claiming that the owners of Dog Training College are behind the new business, British Canine Academy said it is "owned and operated by a former employee of that organisation, not by its previous owners or those responsible for the decisions that led to its closure".

In reply to another review, it said: "Our website is relatively new and some areas are still being developed as we prepare to release training resources and expand the platform."

British Canine Academy has been approached for comment.

The update on the Dog Training College website (Image: Dog Training College website)

Innovaze Ltd, the company trading as Dog Training College, appointed liquidators in January after HMRC filed a petition to wind it up over unpaid tax debts.

It owed the tax office more than £800,000 in VAT and PAYE, as well as more than £80,000 to 23 trade creditors, according to its statement of affairs on Companies House.

Dog Training College's accreditation for its courses ended in August last year, meaning students who completed courses since then would not be certified by the CPD Standards Office, as advertised by the company.

© Norwich Evening News