‘THE Salt Path’ author Raynor Winn has dropped out of her planned speaking appearance at this year’s Dulverton and Exmoor Literary Festival following a national newspaper investigation casting doubt on her version of the ‘true story’.

Her place will be taken instead by The Observer’s award-winning investigative journalist Chloe Hadjimatheou, who uncovered a disturbingly alternative version of how Ms Winn and her husband Moth came to walk the South West Coast Path.

The book, and a film of it which was released in May, tells how the Winns lost their home and livelihood after Moth was diagnosed with a terminal illness and they set out on a life affirming trek of the 630-mile coast path from Minehead to Poole.

However, Ms Hadjimatheou revealed the couple’s real names, Sally and Tim Walker, cast doubt on the nature of Mr Walker’s illness, and reported how an employer of Mrs Walker claimed to have had money stolen from the business.

Mrs Walker has described The Observer’s story as ‘grossly misleading’ and said her book was a true account of the couple’s coast path journey.

She was due to speak under her pseudonym Raynor Winn at the literary festival, which runs from November 14 to 17.

But festival organiser Ali Pegrum said this week: “I have been advised she will no longer be attending any planned literary engagements, and her publishers have decided against releasing her new book ‘On Winter Hill’ in October.

“Chloe Hadjimatheou, the award-winning investigative journalist behind the Observer article, will be coming to the festival to give us an insight into how she discovered ‘the truth’ behind the book.”

Ticket sales for the ‘Salt Path controversy’ talk and all other events will open to the public on September 22, but people who become ‘friends’ of the festival will have priority booking a week earlier.