Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen reopens his winter wonderland - and it's STILL 'rubbish'

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen was on thin ice again today after the re-launch of his festive winter wonderland was branded 'rubbish' by visiting parents.

The flamboyant TV designer was forced to haul in staff, including an actor playing Santa Claus, for extra training after visitors blasted the Christmas attraction.

Bosses of the ‘Magical Journey’ attraction at the Belfry Golf Club in Warwickshire were forced to apologise after Saturday’s grand opening flopped.

Fuming parents, who paid £22.50 per child, reported seeing elves smoking, rubbish strewn across the paths and wooden pallets covered in plastic tarpaulin left lying around – which isn’t very magical really.

After a furious backlash on social media, the attraction closed, and despite tonnes of extra fake snow being slapped on fences and trees, parents were left unimpressed when they showed up yesterday.

Mum-of-two Sheila Denver, of Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, fumed: ‘I've brought my two kids here but it’s rubbish. It’s more tragic than magic.

‘It was boring. We whizzed round it in half-an-hour.

‘I am very disappointed. I really felt sorry for them after reading about Saturday’s disastrous opening and thought they’d pull all the stops out but it is, frankly, crap.’

While there were no long queues, as there were on Saturday, families were greeted in the car park by workmen who directed them to the entrance.

After trudging to the main marquee past fake snow which had dissolved into mud during the previous night’s downpour, visitors watched as staff scrambled to open on time.

Parents and children were left waiting outside after it opened 20 minutes late, which staff said was due to a road accident on the M42 leaving managers stranded in traffic jams.

Meanwhile visitors were forced to watch the attraction’s elves putting on their make-up in the public toilets as panicking staff scrambled to get open.

Little effort had been made to hide the incomplete construction of the few tatty stalls inside, built from temporary walls, which have are made of wooden planks, sheet wood and facing.

[Santa's little helpers break world record in Bangkok]
[Haulier shortage before Christmas]
[Festive slot for Argentina Top Gear]

Granddad Arthur Johnson, 78, of Warwick, took his three-year-old granddaughter Evie to the attraction.

He said: ‘Some of the stalls in the welcome area weren't complete. They had just thrown them together. I could have done better.

‘It was shoddy. The snow was melting into mud and was only covering part of the grass so a huge piece was just left mud. It was very disappointing.

‘It wasn't entertaining, it was boring. It is such a shame.’



Other parents even complained about health and safety issues.

Father-of-two Lee Woodbridge, 36, summed up the visitor’s reactions, saying: ‘There was nothing exciting or magical about it sadly.