Many families from the Portsmouth area paid to go to the Lapland village at Matchams Leisure Park, near Ringwood, after it was widely advertised with tickets at £25 - £30 for a day.

It promised special effects, snow covered log cabins, reindeer, an outdoor skating rink and a tunnel of light.

But some visitors have complained, saying the reality was mud covered walkways and queues up to three hours long.

Judge for yourself from these pictures

Once the entry fee had been paid visitors told The News they had to pay £10 for a photo of their child with Father Christmas and they then had to queue up again for a present for at least another hour.

And they said each ride in the fairground cost up £4 and parents were asked to pay yet again to use the ice rink.

Andy Webb, of Copnor, Portsmouth, took his wife and their grandaughter to the Lapland attraction on Saturday.

'What a waste of money!' he said.

'We had to wait two and a half hours in the pouring rain for my grand daughter to see Father Christmas, along with many other parents with their children.

'When she went to make and decorate a gingerbread man there were none left.

'It was disorganised chaos with no one individual seemingly in charge.

On asking for my money back I was told the organiser was out of the country and that I would have to contact the company.'

Jenny Stewart, 54, took 11 members of her family to the event. She is getting over cancer and hoped the day would be a big treat for them all.

Mrs Stewart, from Brookside Close, Denmead, said: 'I paid £275 and we got absolutely nothing for it but muddy fields with barbed wire round them. On the way to see Father Chrstmas we passed poor dogs tethered up and in agony and a few fake polar bears. The children got a present worth a couple of pounds. It was absolutely awful.'

Sarah Bottrell, of Spithead Avenue, Gosport, took her four year-old daughter, Georgina.

She said: 'It was complete chaos. We tried our very best to make it special for our daughter but there was nothing magical about it at all. My husband queued for just over two hours to see Father Christmas while we tried to find something for Georgina to do. Everyone there was very, very upset.'

Dorset Trading Standards officers have now launched an investigation into the event. Today there was no immediate comment from the organisers of the Lapland attraction.

Trading standards said that anyone seeking a refund should contact the government-funded advice service Consumer Direct for advice on 08454 040506.