Ho-ho-noooo...

Being Lapland, there was lots of snow. There were also reindeer, sledges, in fact everything you'd expect at Santa's 'real' home - except for Santa himself.

Unfortunately for the dozens of families who had spent thousands on a day trip to Finland, he and his elves were a little tied up.

So much for the travel agent's ad which promised a 'magical' experience. Problems began when the families arrived at the resort of Saariselka to find two-hour queues to see Santa in his grotto. As their flight home drew close, they were told by travel reps that an 'operational' hitch meant the visit was off.

'All hell broke loose,' said grandmother Hilary Hughes, 65, of Alvechurch, Worcestershire. 'People shouted and bawled while the children sobbed. It was almost a mini-riot.'

Mrs Hughes saved £2,500 for three years to fly her two daughters and four grandchildren to Lapland, where tourism rakes in £69million a year. They finally saw Santa when he met them - in a cafe - just before they boarded their coach for the airport.

But the children refused to believe he was the real thing. 'It was an utter farce,' said Mrs Hughes. 'What we got was Santa in a kitchen doorway with dirty plates and ketchup bottles behind him.' Agents Transun Travel apologised.