CHILDREN were left in tears and parents furious after visiting a Christmas theme park at the weekend.

An image from the Lapland New Forest website An image from the Lapland New Forest website Complaints have been flooding into the Journal’s newsroom today from families who spent two hours queuing in the rain and the cold on Sunday to see Father Christmas at Lapland New Forest.

Steve and Dawn Hall, of Empire Road, Salisbury, paid £100 to take their children, Ella, five, and 14-month-old Oscar to the attraction but, after queuing for an hour and a half gave up and left without seeing Santa.

Mr Hall said: “It was just awful, absolutely dreadful. My daughter was in tears and my son was freezing cold.”

Tickets for the park, at Matchams Leisure Park near Ringwood, are £30 each, or £25 each for a family of four, and advertising promises a magical tunnel of light, Hollywood special effects, seasonal food, a Christmas market, animals and a skate rink.

But those who went along said the skate rink cost £5 extra on top of the ticket price, the seasonal food was a burger van and they didn’t see other attractions promised by the park’s website.

Helen Jones, of Boscombe Road, Boscombe Down, who took her five-year-old daughter Fenella, said: “It was nothing like it was advertised. It was basically a muddy field where they had stuck a few Christmas trees and a couple of huskies. My daughter was just so disappointed. We had been telling her it would be magical and she just didn’t understand why it was like that.”

Henry Mears, the event’s advertising chief, blamed family illness and unreliable staff for a “very serious problem.”

He said one of three men booked to work at the park as Father Christmas had phoned in ill and staff supporting the ice rink had been working all day to repair a fractured aluminium pipe.

“It’s been a very bad first day. I’m a bit ashamed of myself, to be honest. I would like to apologise to all those people affected. But we will get it sorted out for tomorrow,” said Mr Mears.

But people contacting the Journal said the following day was the same, with families walking out in disgust.

"They promised Lapland but what it really was were a few blowers puffing out fake snow on a bit of wasteland," said James Wood of Amesbury, whose father-in-law paid more than £250 for 14 family members to go to the event yesterday.

He said there were a few animals chained up or in cages, the queue to see Santa was two hours long, the present was a 50p toy and the nativity scene was a few bits nailed to a hoarding.

Trading Standards has also been receiving complaints and has launched an investigation. People wishing to register a complaint are being asked to call Consumer Direct on 08454 040506.

Were you there? What did you think? Let us know by emailing newsdesk@salisburyjournal.co.uk or call 01722 426511.