Brighton company slammed for Christmas park

But the grim reality that greeted families at the weekend was a muddy field scattered with sheds and tethered huskies.

Instead of a festively themed grotto, Santa sat in a sparsely decorated garden shed handing out tokens to children for unwrapped presents and charging £10 to have their picture taken with him.

The Christmas illusion was shattered further when the jolly fat man was spotted having a cigarette outside his shack and disgruntled parents scuffled with elves as tensions rose.

Up to 50,000 people are believed to have bought tickets for Lapland New Forest at £30 a person or £100 for a family of four.

The park advertised itself as being a “winter wonderland” but hundreds of disgruntled customers have since dubbed the event a “winter blunderland”.

On its website, which has since been removed from the internet, its operators claimed: “The attention to detail of our theme park will truly wow you!”

But the promised sleigh rides and toy-making failed to materialise and even its nativity scene turned out to be just a painted mural in the middle of a muddy field.

Glimpses of polar bears in the woods did come true though – although the plastic animal was obvious to spot sitting in the leaf litter with not a flake of fake snow to be seen.

Following the raft of complaints since the park opened on Saturday, East Dorset District Council is investigating health and safety issues. The RSPCA is also involved after receiving more than a dozen complaints about the treatment of animals at the site, which included huskies, donkeys and baby ostriches.

But despite more than 2,000 complaints and the continuing investigations, the park’s beleaguered owners remain defiant.

Yesterday a booking line operator said: “We are still going. The publicity we have had has not been good because we had a disastrous opening weekend but things are in place to correct it.

“Everything that could go wrong did go wrong and nothing went in our favour. But now the ice rink is up and running and the fairground is working and is free of charge.”

But that will come as cold comfort to the hundreds of families who have already visited the park and now face a tough battle to get their money back.

Those who have paid using credit cards will be covered by insurance but for people who paid with debit cards there is no such fail-safe.

Ivan Hancock, Dorset County Council trading standards manager, said: “We met the event organisers and they are looking to address some of the issues raised by consumers to improve the theme park. We are still assessing all the complaints that have been made, along with the information we have gathered, and will be considering if formal action is appropriate.

“For now we are still asking anyone with tickets who is concerned about the event or who has a complaint to call Consumer Direct, who will be able to give advice and explain the process of trying to claim their money back if they feel it is appropriate. We are particularly looking into whether misleading claims about the attraction have been made in the promotional literature and website and whether consumers’ rights are being breached.”

Earlier Mr Hancock said he had heard of one person spending £3,000 on tickets and one particularly sad case in which a terminally ill grandparent had paid out to take their grandchildren to the park.

He said: “They were selling dreams on their website but the picture portrayed fell a long way short of the real experience.”

Henry Mears, marketing manager of the firm, which has advertised the attraction in The Argus, defended the park. He said on Radio Solent: “I think it’s beautiful. There were loads and loads of other people who really enjoyed it.”

Lawyers for Lapland UK, which runs a multi million pound Christmas-themed attraction in Kent and is not associated with Lapland New Forest, are reported to be looking into the case.

To contact Consumer Direct, call 08454 040506 or visit www.consumerdirect.gov.uk.

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