A LACKLUSTRE children’s winter weekend has been branded an “embarrassment” by one of the charities it was supposed to help.

Boot Out Breast Cancer was one of the charities Bolton’s Winter Weekend was supporting but founder Debbie Dowie has hit out after the event disappointed hundreds of visitors.

Cree8ive Events and Cree8ive Design organised the weekend but since hitting the headlines the company has gone quiet and the landline is out of service.

READ MORE: Winter weekend was 'more like a car boot sale', say angry families

Mrs Dowie, who is married to former-footballer and Sky pundit Iain, said: “I’m really disappointed. I was so shocked.

“I felt so sorry for all the lovely families who were looking forward to it. I kept thinking ‘where is the winter wonderland’? We thought there must be another room where people could go. If you promise something, you have to deliver on it.

“None of the stallholders were very happy. I gave up my whole weekend to be there.

"I have not even had a call from the organiser which is disappointing.

“She probably needs to do the right thing.

"It was embarrassing. Everything was done very cheaply. As a charity, I would rather not have the money because I feel the families were mis-sold.

“Had I known, we would never have been involved. I am just so sad that our name and Bolton Hospice’s name has been associated with it.”

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Bolton Hospice confirmed the organisers had been in touch and staff had been reassured they will be receiving a donation.

The event was billed as a children’s winter weekend, promising Disney characters, a Santa’s grotto and ice rink but visitors complained of long queues to all the attractions and having to pay extra once they arrived for activities like taking a picture with Father Christmas on their own phone.

The ice rink was derided as “dirty” and many felt they were mis-sold when it turned out to be made of plastic.

Many described the event as more like a "carboot sale", with stalls for acne cream and car number plates instead of the Christmas items they expected.

Other parents complained about the parking, signs directed them to a carpark where they paid £5 to park and found themselves hauling prams up and over the footbridge.

Visitor Jonathan Griffiths said Bolton’s Winter Weekend was an “embarrassment” to the town.

Farzana Patel, aged 31, and Andrew Fane, 38, are the director and financial director of Cree8ive Design Ltd, they recently went into partnership with local shop website thebestofbolton. Neither

Cree8ive Design’s Facebook page shows them building up to the event and excited parents commenting how they were getting tickets and looking forward to it.

Since the backlash to the event visitors have said their complaints are being removed from social media.