Refunds wanted after 'awful' Christmas drone show

One visitor described the experience as "awful"

People who travelled to a Christmas drone show in West Sussex are demanding refunds after describing the event as "awful" and "shockingly poor".

Several people contacted BBC Radio Sussex to vent their frustrations, with one setting up a Facebook group for fellow customers.

The Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Drone Show took place at the South of England Showground in Ardingly on Sunday.

The company behind the show, Lumina Sky Theatre, said it had suffered "technical difficulties" and asked customers who wanted a refund to contact them.

Sean Tong, who travelled from Rainham in Kent, said: "I looked at the website and there were going to be 600 drones.

"But I could only make out about 50 drones and the images that came up were very unclear. A lot of the parents were leaving after five minutes."

He also said he thought the food and fairground rides were "overpriced".

Mr Tong said when he left he was waiting in the car park for an hour and 20 minutes, while some vehicles were stuck in the mud.

One visitor said they were expecting 600 drones, but could only count about 60

Kerrie Niblett, from Burgess Hill, left before the drones even started.

"It was that awful, it took us an hour to get into the car park, which wasn't suitable, it was just a field," she said.

"We were muddy, there were no signs, it was just awful."

One person told BBC Radio Sussex she left before the drones even started because the whole event was so disappointing

Chris Evans, also from Burgess Hill, started a Facebook group for disgruntled customers.

"The event was just so shockingly poor compared to what was advertised I thought it was only right that I should ask for a refund," he said.

"I wasn't sure if it was just my view but then I went on to Facebook and saw there were lots of people complaining on Lumina's page."

The BBC has approached Lumina Sky Theatre for comment.

On its Facebook page it said: "Unfortunately, our Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer drone show experienced technical difficulties, affecting some of the drones.

"We are incredibly disappointed that we were unable to deliver the entire show to the high standards we had prepared and sincerely apologise to customers whose enjoyment of the show was affected.

"Our technical team are currently investigating to understand what happened.

"We will be contacting all ticket holders via email as soon as possible. In the meantime should you need to contact us, please do so directly."

The South of England Showground added: "Lumina Sky Theatre hired the centre for their drone event which they planned and managed all aspects of.

"It is very concerning that their event did not go as planned and we are very sorry to hear of their visitors' disappointment.

"We recommend you direct complaints and requests for refunds to [e-mail]."