A Chiswick firm vilified for dropping a £45,000 piano has seen its customers rally round it.

G&R Removals, based in Bollo Lane, hit the headlines this week when it botched the delivery of a Bösendorfer piano to a Devon music festival.

The rare Austrian grand piano had been bought at a London auction after music lovers spent two years raising the cash.

The piano was delivered to the home of Penny and John Adie, organisers of the Two Moors Festival, an annual music event on Dartmoor and Exmoor designed to help the area recover from the foot-and-mouth crisis.

But disaster struck when the piano toppled over and fell around 2.5m, landing on a bank.

Despite negative coverage in a number of newspapers, David Hogben, from Oxford-based Courtney's Pianos, leapt to protect the company's reputation.

He said: "We have used G&R Removals for many years, since we opened, and they've moved many pianos for us. In that time we've never had a problem.

"And all of a sudden we get all this exposure in the press because of one accident.

"We have to put this in proportion against all the other thousands of pianos they move."

He added: "If you are asking me would I use G&R removals again then the answer is yes."

Roger Willson the chief executive of Bülthner Piano Centre Ltd in Mayfair also defended the company.

He said: "We use G&R for almost all our moves and we have had no reports of major damage including moving pianos worth £80,000 or £90,000. They have always offered a kind, courteous, and professional service."

Mr Willson added: "I have no problem recommending them at all."

The piano is currently back in London where the damage is waiting to be independently assessed.

The instrument was insured for the £26,000 paid for it at auction, and replacement is likely to cost around £45,000.

G&R Removals said they were unable to comment on the story.