Join the Secret Elves to discover the best shopping deals and things to do this Christmas Spread the Christmas cheer! Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

It was billed as an "enchanting" experience that would be the highlight of Christmas for hundreds of families.

But the Milton Keynes Winter Wonderland has turned out to be a complete festive fail.

The event in Campbell Park has been cancelled by organisers after just two days following a barrage of complaints about the attractions.

Parents, who had paid up to £65 for tickets, said the Santas were actually young, thin men in unconvincing outfits, while the ice rink turned out to be a few plastic sheets.

There were only two reindeer and a few husky dogs who weren't able to take children on sled rides.

Organiser Lorenzo Franco closed the site and is now offering full refunds to people who bought tickets in advance.

Grandmother Lesley Keys, from Bedford, took her seven-year-old grandson on Saturday.

She told the BBC: "When we arrived we were told Santa wouldn't be there until after 4pm. We were told we could walk through the woodland, which turned out to be a tent with some statues," she said.

"We saw some husky dogs but there were no rides [on the dogs].

"The fairground rides were poor and the ice rink was a few plastic sheets. My grandson was very disappointed."

Many took to Twitter and Facebook to post pictures of their disappointing visit.

The cancellation has led to disappointment for a number of acts who were due to perform on a main stage at the event including former X-Factor contestant Laura White and an Olly Murs Tribute Act.

Ms White, who finished eighth in the competition in 2008, wrote on her Facebook page that the event had been cancelled due to "weather conditions".

The debacle has echoes of the 'Crapland' con in 2010 when two brothers defrauded thousands of customers into visiting what they claimed was a Lapland-style theme park.

Victor Mears, 67, and Henry Mears, 60, were both jailed after promising visitors a winter wonderland with snow-covered log cabins, a nativity scene, husky dogs, polar bears and other animals, as well as a bustling Christmas market in the New Forest.

Instead, disappointed families found a muddy field, a broken ice rink and fairy lights hung from trees.

One mother writing on a blog for the Natal Company about the Milton Keynes Winter Wonderland 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.

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

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: "We are very sorry to hear that some people have had such a disappointing experience at Winter Wonderland MK. We have been in touch with the organisers Winter Wonderland MK who have advised us that regrettably they have now cancelled this event.

"Winter Wonderland MK have told us that they will be contacting all the customers on their database to arrange refunds and that people should get in touch with them via their website www.wwmk.co.uk or by email at infowwmk.co.uk.

"Before The Parks Trust hires out any sites out to third parties we do ensure that organisers have robust health and safety policies, are fully insured and have a detailed event management plan in place. We also liaise with the local authority and the police through the Safety Advisory Group.

"We are saddened that Winter Wonderland MK did not meet some customers' expectations."