Drusilla's Park forced to shut this morning by power cut (From The Argus)
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Drusilla's Park forced to shut this morning by power cut
2:01pm Wednesday 1st August 2012 in News
One of Sussex's most popular tourist attractions had to open two hours late following a power cut this morning.
Families arriving at Drusillas Park near Alfriston today found they were unable to get in.
The zoo, along with 300 other homes and properties in the surrounding area, lost power at around 5.10am because of a fault on the overhead network.
Most customers had supplies restored by 6.40am but others, including Drusillas, had to wait until about 12.30pm.
A statement on the zoo's website said: “We are sorry for any disappointment caused. This situation was beyond our control.
“We were required to close as a matter of health and safety.
“The pumps on our toilets did not work, our taps had no water and the barrier fences on our animal enclosures failed meaning many of the animals were inside out of view.”
A spokeswoman told The Argus that zookeepers were on hand to keep a check on the animals and there was no risk of creatures getting out.
She said staff had taken customers’ phone numbers so visitors could go away and get something to eat or drink and get a call from the zoo once it had reopened.
She said: “It was disappointing for those who arrived to find the zoo closed but we were open again as soon as possible and things quickly got back to normal.
“It is very unusual for us to have a long power cut like that.”
A spokesman for UK Power Networks said: “UK Power Networks engineers worked as quickly as was safely possible to restore supplies.
“We appreciate how difficult it can be to lose power and would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused.”
Comments(5)
Roundbill
says...
10:06pm Wed 1 Aug 12
Except in rural Sussex.
And with penguins instead of velocoraptors.
And an otter instead of that little thing with the ruff round its neck, that gobbed at the fat bloke when his jeep got bogged down.
And a llama instead of a t-rex.
redwing
says...
11:52pm Wed 1 Aug 12
Sussex jim wrote:I thought the same, but today our group of six adults one child and one baby were admitted for £57 on a family ticket - great value.
What a shame! As early as 1974 I heard someone complain about the prices- "cheaper to take my family all the way to Chessigton Zoo" Similar comments recently. This power cut probably did many parents a favour.
I highly recommend it. You can see the animals up really close. They have generous and interesting enclosures and there's clear, quickly read information about everything you're looking at. It's easy to navigate the paths and slopes with prams, pushchairs and wheelchairs, and the children's jungle style playground is imaginative and spectacular.
banargustrolls
says...
6:57am Thu 2 Aug 12
Charismatic Andrew
says...
9:08am Thu 2 Aug 12
redwing wrote:I agree - sounds like a post from someone from the marketing dept at Drusillas.
Sussex jim wrote:I thought the same, but today our group of six adults one child and one baby were admitted for £57 on a family ticket - great value.
What a shame! As early as 1974 I heard someone complain about the prices- "cheaper to take my family all the way to Chessigton Zoo" Similar comments recently. This power cut probably did many parents a favour.
I highly recommend it. You can see the animals up really close. They have generous and interesting enclosures and there's clear, quickly read information about everything you're looking at. It's easy to navigate the paths and slopes with prams, pushchairs and wheelchairs, and the children's jungle style playground is imaginative and spectacular.
I don't understand how you were only charged £57 for a family ticket for 7 people though?!?!!? On the website a family ticket for 5 costs £77.50 (with perhaps a 10% discount for buying it online). £57 doesn't make sense (unless you were using Tesco Clubcard Tokens - which would be a bit misleading).
Sussex jim says...
3:08pm Wed 1 Aug 12