A COURT was told how a mum bought tickets to Lapland New Forest to cheer up her family after a terrible year.

Housewife Karen Humphrey explained in a written statement why she paid £150 for tickets to the Christmas attraction at Matchams, near Ringwood.

“My family had not had a good year,” she said. “My husband had suffered a heart attack and my son was diagnosed with more disabilities. Little did I know at this point the most exciting point of the day would be queuing to get into the park.”

She said that the “tunnel of light” was a big disappointment.

“What I found was a few trees with some fairy lights hung from them,” she said.

Mrs Humphrey said that the nativity scene was a “painted billboard”, Bristol Crown Court heard.

She added: “At this moment my heart sank because I knew this was not what we expected. Then we noticed a plastic polar bear stuck in the middle of the woods – there wasn’t even any snow.”

Mrs Humphrey said she was so concerned about the condition of the husky dogs – one had “sunken eyes and protruding teeth” – that she reported the theme park to the RSPCA.

Mrs Humphrey, from Brighton, added: “Father Christmas looked very scruffy and didn’t even have a real costume on.

“What I saw advertised on the website did not match what we saw. What we witnessed was disgusting and a disgrace.”

Jurors have heard that within days of the theme park opening in November 2008, hundreds of disgruntled visitors had complained to trading standards, saying that they had been ripped off.

With customers charged £30 a ticket and with up to 10,000 advance bookings taken online, the owners – brothers Victor and Henry Mears, from Brighton – were set to take £1.2m in ticket sales.

The brothers face five charges of engaging in a commercial practice which is a misleading action and three charges of engaging in a commercial practice which is a misleading omission.

Visitors to Lapland New Forest were promised a winter wonderland with snowcovered log cabins, a nativity scene, husky dogs, polar bears and other animals, as well as a bustling Christmas market.

Less than a week later the attraction closed as the company behind it, Lapland New Forest UK Ltd, went into liquidation, with the defendants blaming the media and sabotage from “New Forest villains”

for the decision.

Victor Mears, 67, and Henry Mears, 60, deny all the charges.

Proceeding.