Dozens of families have been left disappointed after a Christmas event at Thornton Manor in Wirral was completely cancelled on the opening weekend.
The Winter Wonderlight event saw Thornton Manor open its private park and landscaped gardens to the public for the very first time.
Families could safely follow a trail in their own cars, through the grounds of the Elizabethan house, travelling from zone to zone of spectacular illuminated displays, with themed areas include a spellbinding Northern Lights show by the lake, to the wonders of an LED-lit meadow, and finishing the tour through a snow-covered winter wonderland with giant floating snowflakes.
But the event has been completely cancelled following the opening weekend due to 'technical demands'.
Suzanne Fleetwood from Bromborough, Wirral, had planned a family trip there for a Christmas treat.
She told the ECHO: "I am bitterly disappointed. You reported on the above event in November and we booked tickets straight away. We have been told today that the event has been cancelled.
"This is 12 days before we were due to visit on 20th and is far too late to organise a replacement outing. I hope the organisers rethink their decision. There have been far too many disappointments this year for children and adults alike and this one just seems unacceptable as it met all COVID government guidelines."
There were also lots of comments on Thornton Manor Facebook page from families who were gutted by the news.
Joanne Wood wrote: "Oh noooo! The only Christmas experience I’d booked for the family this year. What a disappointment."
Claire Shephard posted: "Gutted, booked this for our Christmas eve treat, oh well next year."
Laura Donaldson said: "Such a shame. Thank you for your efforts to try to recover it. I'm sure it must be a very stressful time, particularly with wedding season being a 'no go' this year. We'll look forward to joining you next year. All good wishes x"
Vicky France wrote: "Gutted to read this. After our cancellation on Saturday I rebooked for next week...... Will definitely look forward to this next year x"
A spokesperson said: "It is with deep regret that we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year's Winter WonderLight event at Thornton Manor.
"The first year of launching such a technically demanding event under challenging circumstances, with two lockdowns and ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, meant the third party production company were not able to meet expectations.
"Our thanks and apologies to those fantastic customers that supported us and bought tickets to our event. The show will go on, Winter WonderLight will launch next year and it will reflect the magic and excitement of Thornton Manor’s and our customers' high standards.
"We were thrilled to be opening our stunning gardens and grounds to the public for the first time, and our enthusiasm to deliver next year has not been dampened."
Thornton Manor said its priority now is to contact and fully refund all customers that have purchased tickets. They will contact customers via email at the address the purchase was made from.
Any further queries regarding the event can be emailed to winterwonderlight@thorntonmanor.co.uk. Thornton Manor will endeavour to respond to all emails as quickly as possible, but bear with them whilst they work through the orders and enquiries.
