A family from Ponsanooth have joined a group of disgruntled holidaymakers who have instructed expert international personal injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate their disastrous Christmas holiday to Finland where a rude Santa upset children and the magical trip was ruined by sickness.

Verity Howard and partner Kevin Tattersall stayed at the Hotel Lomakyla with their nine-year-old daughter, Gracie and son Harry, six.

The couple says their children were left hurt and crying after a painful ride on a rough and worn snow mobile and they were forced to cover the toboggan run in fresh snow as it had become icy and dangerous due to overuse, whilst staff looked on without attempting to help.

Verity booked the holiday on the back of the husky, snow mobile and reindeer rides which each promised a full 45-minute experience. But the mum-of-two said the husky dogs were nowhere to be seen and instead the ride was led by mongrel sled dogs.

She said: “We were promised a 45 minute sled ride but we were on it for no longer than five minutes.

“The snow mobile ride was an awful experience for the children as the seating was made from rough material with no padding. The children were crying because they found the ride so painful but we didn’t realise until the end of the experience as they were being towed behind the first snowmobile.

“The search for Santa was a holiday spoiler – the itinerary said it would be Christmas Eve but it happened on Boxing Day. It was meant to be a build up to Christmas for the children but on Christmas Eve there was nothing planned for us to do. We spent so much money on what we thought would be a memorable trip, but it was wasted.”

Kevin, 50, fell ill with gastric symptoms on Christmas Eve but Verity says, despite pleas with the staff, no one would give her or any of the other guests a contact number for medical help.

Kevin and Verity also reported that the telephone number that the guests had been given in the event of emergencies connected only to the kitchen staff who did not speak much English and could not help.

“Our Christmas Day meal was just processed meats, chicken nuggets, chips, powdered mashed potato and gravy, with watery rice pudding and prunes for dessert – the same as every other day at the hotel - and we were rushed through it with no sense of occasion and ordered to clear our plates afterwards.

She said: “We just had to fend for ourselves. On the last day all the guests were made to leave our cabins at 9am and sit in a room with everyone else, including very ill people with access to only one toilet despite many of the guests suffering with diarrhoea. It was not pleasant to use.

“Kevin was still suffering from stomach cramps and was very uncomfortable, as were others in the room, but our flight wasn’t until the evening so we were all just stuck.

“It was sold as a magical white Christmas but it was a nightmare. We want to know why we didn’t have the holiday we were promised.”

Also in the legal action is Heidi Ashworth, a single mum of two children Max and Anna, from Lymington, Hampshire was forced to take her daughter Anna, eight, out of school when she fell ill with gastric symptoms following their stay at Hotel Lomakyla in Hetta.

Heidi said: “Loads of guests like us were suffering from diarrhoea, vomiting and horrendous stomach cramps while at the hotel. It spoilt the whole break, which was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime for children, Max and Anna, but it was nothing but frustrating and disappointing. We were all so ill.

She said ‘’Christmas Day was ruined, Max and I were so ill and Anna was just stuck in the room with us. We missed the main Christmas Day excursion because we were just too ill. I was so disappointed that none of the staff came to check on us or see if we needed any help, even though I had emailed the tour operator to let them know we were unwell and would not be attending the Christmas Day excursion.’’

She claimed an ‘ill prepared and rude’ Santa upset the children eagerly waiting to greet him.

Heidi informed her legal team that Santa told Max, 13, that he was ‘too big and too tall to see Santa and that he wouldn’t get a present’ in front of his sister.

“I just feel lied to. We were promised a magical trip, where we were going to meet Santa, and have a holiday to cherish, but it turned out to be one we would sooner forget.

“It was the most poorly managed trip I have ever encountered. My children were bored, tearful and above all incredibly disappointed.

“All we want to know now is what caused our illness and ruined our holiday.”

Nichola Blackburn, an International Personal Injury specialist for Irwin Mitchell said: “Gastric illness can have serious, long-term health implications for those affected.

“Many of our clients are giving us the same description of their time at the hotel and the problems that they faced, including - aside from sickness - a husky trip which had no huskies, meals restricted to a strict one-hour time slot with food unavailable outside of those times, and the holiday rep reportedly being very difficult to locate.

“We would encourage anyone who stayed at the Lomakyla Hotel over Christmas 2016, who experienced or have since suffered gastric symptoms, to see their GP at the earliest available opportunity. We would also like to speak with them as they may be able to help with our investigations.”