A Jurassic Park attraction has been criticised by disappointed families, with one woman describing it as “just a man in a blow up dinosaur suit”.

Thousands of families turned up at a free event on Peterborough Embankment, in Cambridgeshire, expecting to see a towering 18-foot Tyrannosaurus Rex as promised.

But several parents voicing their disappointment on social media said they were instead greeted with a man in a blow-up dinosaur suit and other dinosaur “puppets”.

The 18-foot dinosaur that was billed as the main attraction was not brought out by organisers who reportedly blamed “health and safety issues” for keeping it behind closed doors.

Carol Hurdman posted on Twitter: “Very disappointed with the lack of dinosaurs there definitely no 18ft one or robotic ones just a man in a suit.

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“Eight year (old) was very upset. Over 45 mins to get there for nothing. Walked round and left within half hour.”

Another problem that plagued the event was a lack of parking.

Limited space for cars caused hours of delays for those trying to get in and out of the fair.

Disappointed families criticised a Jurassic Park attraction in Peterborough on 9 June 2019 as "just a man in a blow up dinosaur suit". (SWNS)

Although free to attend, guests had to pay a £5 charge for parking regardless of how long they stayed.

The event on Sunday saw many leaving within an hour despite travelling from outside the city.

The organisers later apologised for the problems on Facebook in a post that has since been deleted.

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In the post, the Jurassic Park Experience said that 10 times more visitors arrived than expected, adding: “This was our first event and we strive to do better at our next one.

“On behalf of the whole team again I would like to apologise to anyone who was disappointed today. We will do better next time.”

Lukas Vanterpool, 32, attended with his three children and said what should have been a 10-minute drive took him and his family 45 minutes just to reach the entrance.

He said: “Over the past few weeks there has been a lot of media and promotion about the event; based on the effort that went in I think most people were expecting an impressive event.

“Most people had no idea what was going on and you could see the confusion on faces as nobody could see these dinosaurs.

“There was quite a big crowd around the ‘dinosaurs’ which when I arrived turned out to be a man with a puppet. Everybody was disappointed.