THE COMPANY which organised Bolton's controversial Winter Weekend have apologised to attendees.

The event ran over two days last weekend but on Saturday afternoon The Bolton News began to receive numerous complaints from people who had visited, with one father calling it a "disaster".

Others said they felt they had not received value from their tickets and compared the event, held at Bolton Arena, to a carboot sale.

Martin Robinson, event manager behind Cree8ive Events, which organised the Winter Weekend, said: "The event at the weekend was attended by over 12,000 people. Although we had positive feedback from some attendees and stallholders, we did have some attendees highlighting specific problems.

"We would like to apologise to anybody who felt that the event was not up to expectations. The whole aim of it was to bring the community and businesses together to make an enjoyable experience for everybody and to raise money for our chosen charities Bolton Hospice & Boot Out Breast Cancer.

"All the team at Cree8ive Events worked around the clock in order to provide this positive experience for all the visitors and businesses.

"Unfortunately, some of our activities were provided by third party contractors with whom we will now be addressing the problems mentioned in the feedback.

"Once we have calculated any income from the event, all of the profits will be given to the two charities."