Lapland visitors disgusted

2:08pm Wednesday 3rd December 2008

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READERS of the County Gazette are among the 2,000 people to complain about a ‘Lapland’ attraction on the Dorset-Hampshire border this week.

Organisers of Lapland New Forest at Matchams, near Ringwood, promised a breath-taking tunnel of light, an outdoor skating rink, memories to cherish and value for money.

But visitors found a line of trees with lights on it, queues of up to three hours to see Santa, and the skating rink closed for repair.

The number of complaints received has topped 2,000 while up to 50,000 people are believed to have pre-purchased tickets bringing in more than £1m for the organisers.

Lesley Sheldrake, of Taunton, her partner Wayne Clarke and her three children, Carly, Sam and Megan visited at the weekend.

She said: “We are completely disgusted. It was shabby, tacky and there was nothing magical about it at all. It cost us £125 for our kids to leave in tears after an hour.

“What did we get for our £25? Cold, wet, miserable and a cheap bit of plastic memorabilia from Santa to chuck in the bin when we got home.”

The organisers were unavailable for comment but a representative on the booking line told us: “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.”

Anyone who has concerns about the attraction can call Consumer Direct on 08454-040506.