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A mum is devastated after TUI refused to refund her Lapland trip - even though there's no snow in the resort.

Kerri Summers, 29, and her partner Nico, spent £1,700 on a three day trip to Finland their son Nico's seventh birthday.

Kerri, from Huyton, booked the trip two weeks ago and wasn't told of any potential problems at the time of booking.

But when TUI cancelled trips to Lapland leaving on the 1st and 2nd of December because there was no snow - Kerri wrongly assumed her trip on the 3rd would also be moved.

She said: "I called up yesterday and was told if I wanted to cancel I wouldn't be able to get a refund, they wouldn't move it to a later date either.

"They told us that everything is going ahead as usual, but that we'd have to travel for two to three hours on a coach to find snow.

"We wanted to go tobogganing and have the real Christmas experience, but we're going to get there and it'll just be concrete.

"Tui have said they can create fake snow with snow cannons, but if we just wanted that we'd go to the Chill Factore.

(Image: PA)

"I know they can't control the weather but all I'm asking for is a little bit of leeway on the dates we travel."

Lapland has been experiencing above average temperatures, meaning the usual winter wonderland is yet to materialise.

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At a time when northern Lapland would normally have 20-30cm of snow on the ground, there are now no more than a couple of centimetres in isolated patches, and the majority of the area has no snow at all.

Kerri said: "It's just not going to be the same, Nico is so excited for it and I have no idea what I'm going to tell him.

"People online have been pointing at other things to do in Lapland, such as visit art galleries or painting biscuits, but that's not what I've paid £1,700 for."

A TUI UK spokesperson said: "We keep a close eye on the forecasts and continue to monitor the situation closely, but we also have a number of contingency plans in place in Lapland to ensure customers can still have the trip they are looking forward to.

"For example many of the resorts we head to are able to make use of snow cannons as necessary.

"Unfortunately as the temperature isn't predicted to be cold enough to allow for the completion of the Snow Village in Kittila for the first weekend of the season we have taken the difficult decision to cancel just the 1st and 2nd December day trips to that resort.

"We have directly contacted any affected customers with alternative options.

"We would like to reassure anyone heading to Kittila for three or four nights at the beginning of December or later, or to anyone due to visit any of our other Lapland resorts over this period or at a later point in the season, that we are confident we’ll be able to offer them the full experience as planned.”