Dorset Trading Standards are investigating scores of complaints about a so-called Lapland Adventure which costs £30 a ticket.

The advertisements describe Lapland New Forest as ‘where dreams really do come true’. One parent said it was a few huts surrounded by a sea of mud with nearby trees sprayed white. Here at Meridian we’ve had lots of emails and calls from viewers upset by the alleged false advertisement on the park’s website.  

A spokesman for Lapland New Forest said his staff had been abused and even attacked and he refused to say whether they would stay open or whether dissatisfied customers could claim refunds.

If you have been to the park and feel you are entitled to a refund download a template complaint letter from Consumer Direct. There’s no guarantee you’ll get your money back but it’s probably the easiest and best way to make an official complaint.

Have you been to Lapland New Forest and would like to share your experiences? Tell us all here on the Meridian blog.  

Watch last night’s Meridian Tonight report on the Trading Standards investigation here.

**UPDATE**

The curtain finally came down on the New Forest Lapland experience today (04/12) amid scenes of confusion and recrimination. Its high profile publicity was tarnished by a catalogue of complaints and 50,000 customers unsure if they’ll get their money back.

Halloween is quickly creeping up for another year of spooky parties, petrifying pumpkins and terrifying trick or treating.

Here at Meridian and Thames Valley we want to know if you are holding a Halloween party this year. Maybe we can come along and have a frightening time!

Plus, do you have any top tips to make your gathering of ghouls go with a scream? Maybe you have a special recipe to make scary cakes like the ones pictured right?

We want to see and hear how to make magnificent masks, brilliant broomsticks and premier pumpkins.

Upload all your hints, tips and party details right here on the ITV Local blog.

Plus you can send all Halloween pictures to meridian@itvlocal.com  

If you are holding a large scale public event we will also add it to our Halloween events list which is coming soon.   

Here’s a ghoulish gag to get you in the party mood.

Q. How does a ghost cook his eggs?
A. He terrorfries them!

Meridian reporter Sarah Gomme reports

There’s less than two weeks now before The Great South Run and in recent days my training has stepped up a gear. Last week my personal trainer decided we ought to incorporate a couple of hills into our run - and it was tough. I’d never thought of Southampton as being a particularly hilly place, until now. I must admit I felt physically sick and the experience gave me a strange sensation which felt like my legs were no longer attached to the rest of my body! Thankfully though they didn’t give way and my personal trainer assures me the experience will make the Great South’s flat course easy in comparison (I hope she’s right).

I’ve also been to meet some fellow runners who’ll be raising money for the Stroke Association. They all have very personal stories to tell, explaining why they’ve chosen this particular cause. Some have relatives who’ve suffered strokes, others have young friends who’ve suffered too - making me realise it’s not just young people who the illness strikes so suddenly. Until now I had no idea how many people strokes affect - stroke is in fact the third most common cause of death in the UK.

I know there’ll be hundreds of other charities represented in Portsmouth too - and with so many people running to raise money for their own special causes, I’d imagine the atmosphere is going to be incredible. I can’t wait.

I’m taking my diet a little more seriously at the moment. I’m eating lots of protein, carbs in the form of pasta and plenty of fruit and veg. I’m also trying my best to drink lots of water - and no alcohol! I never believed how what you eat can affect how you feel when you train. Last week I had a particularly disastrous run - and I put it down to the fact that the day before I’d eaten two large slices of cake (homemade for the work cake sale) before grabbing a pre-cinema take-away burger. Not the diet of an aspiring athlete!

Well, time for another glass of water now, and a very healthy lunch. I’m running tonight and need plenty of fuel.

Sarah

For more information on the Stroke Association visit their website here.

Meridian presenter Sangeeta Bhabra blogs

It’s not always easy to find a good excuse to get the old barnet done but when someone says why don’t you get your hair done for charity? I couldn’t resist at £5 for a blowdry.

All the hairdressers at Finn Hair in Woodley near Reading gave up their evening on Monday the 6^th of October to raise money for Breast Cancer Research and the charity Daisy’s Dream.

The girls all dressed in pink raised £400 pounds in two hours and regular customers walked away with some great Raffle prizes.

Great hair for a Great cause.

For more information visit the Daisy’s Dream website here.

Six environmental protesters have been cleared of causing £30,000 of damage to the Kingsnorth power station chimney in Kent in news that has been described as putting “Climate Change itself on trial”.

The group, 5 chaps and a girl, from Greenpeace painted the name “Gordon” (they were stopped before adding Bennet) on the 656ft stack at Kingsnorth last October in a political protest against the plant’s coal-fired redevelopment. For the video, click here.

“They thought it was the most effective way of what they regard as a global phenomenon that was threatening mankind” said ITV reporter Paul Fitzgerald report of the six, whilst describing how the verdict was in the balance.

Ben Stewart – one of the accused, gushed “We’re happy, relieved and pleased with the outcome.” Before adding “This verdict will go beyond Maidstone Crown Court – as it should do”.

The jury may have spoken, but we want to know what you think. Are these brave protestors putting their freedom on the line to let us all know of the problems we are facing, or are they nothing more than common criminals who deserve to be spending tonight behind bars? Do let us know…

Reporter Kerry Swain blogs

The sky dive was incredible, wonderful and terrifying at the same time. The worst moment was actually falling out of the plane. I was strapped to a lovely sergeant in the Parachute Regiment, Tom Blakey, sitting almost on his lap and we shuffled to the door of the plane on our bottoms.

We were above the clouds, twelve thousand feet above the ground. I leaned my head back into Tom as instructed and then he pushed forward and we both rolled out. Falling into nothing felt as dreadful as it sounds and we did a somersault. But then Tom stabilised our fall and I actually enjoyed plunging to the ground at 120 miles an hour.

A camera man was falling next to me and the pictures he took show I’m actually smiling! There was a huge wrench when the parachute opened. I was told that it is like braking from 120 to 40 miles an hour. The landing was much gentler than I’d been expecting and I felt so relieved to be down safely.

Unfortunately I suffer very badly from motion sickness and felt dreadfully dizzy and nauseous for quite a while afterwards. But I wouldn’t have missed my sky dive for the world.

Money is still coming in for the charity I am supporting, The Rose Road Association in Southampton which helps severely disabled children and young people, and I am proud to have played a small part in their fund raising appeal Change My Life. But would I do it again. Probably not!  

Visit Kerry’s sponsorship page to donate to the Rose Road Association. Plus, you can watch Kerry’s news report here on ITV Local.  

It’s been a long time in coming for eager 15/16 year olds across the country all summer long – and with provisional results for GCSEs showing an improvement of 3.5%, including Mathematics and English, compared to the last academic year, it should be a day of happiness for many youngsters around the region! A little like Michael Brown from Brighton, who has done exceptionally well with four A’s in all.

And while they’re busy leaping for joy, with 65.7% of the exams taken awarded A* to C grades, this is your chance to prove just how happy you are for them with the help of ITV Local! Simply pop over to our online form, fill in the details of the GCSE star, and we’ll publish your congratulations. Or, if you’ve got a video of the happy moment that envelope was opened, or the outpouring of delight that accompanied an unexpected A* or two – why not send it to ITV Local Yournews, and share it with the rest of Meridian.

Come on, let’s congratulate Meridian’s youth… Fill in the form, send in the video – or simply leave your message of success below!