Winter 'Wonderland' cancelled after hundreds of complaints

A Winter Wonderland event has been cancelled after attracting a raft of complaints from parents.

The event in Campbell Park, in Milton Keynes, included paid-for events such as ice skating and a visit to Father Christmas, opened on Saturday.

But organisers confirmed the event was no longer taking place after parents set up a Facebook page to complain about the quality of what was on offer.

One mother writing on a blog for the Natal Company said her family had paid £42 to pre-book tickets to find "men dressed in Santa outfits from Poundland".

"This was definitely no Wonderland," she wrote. "It felt like an opportunity to rip off parents who had hoped to have a magical day out with their children."

The Santa's Grotto was also closed initially because of a "technical issue", she wrote.

Other complaints were that the advertising suggested more than two husky dogs and two reindeer would be at the event and that the ice rink did not contain real ice.

Organisers posted a message on the Winter Wonderland MK website, stating: "We regret that this event has been cancelled".

They also promised that anyone who pre-ordered tickets would be issued with full refunds.

The event's charity partner the Papworth Trust said it was "concerned" to hear about the complaints and had withdrawn from the event.

In a statement, the disability charity said: "As the benefiting charity associated with the Winter Wonderland MK event, we have been concerned to hear about the issues on the opening day.

"We are sorry to hear about people's experiences of the day. After consulting with our volunteers and listening to the public's feedback, we have sadly decided to withdraw our volunteers and our association with the event."

A spokesman from The Parks Trust, which looks after Campbell Park, said they were sorry to hear people had been disappointed