A WINTER wonderland for children failed to open today after a council said it had ''serious concerns'' about the event.

Trading standards inspectors toured Lapland West Midlands, near Wolverhampton, today before councillors said they could have shut the site down had it opened.

It comes just days after the controversial Lapland New Forest attaction at Matchams, near Ringwood shut down after a deluge of complaints.

Councillor Carol Dean, from Staffordshire County Council, said: ''It looks like a field with some tents in it at the moment. It doesn't look much like a winter wonderland.''

She added: ''We have had officers go up and look around. There aren't any animals up at the site. There's not a lot up there in the way of an event.

''There are just some pitched tents up there and we have been advised that it's been closed.

''It would have taken a lot to get it to the stage we have seen on the website.

''We have come along to see what they have got and if it had opened we would have been able to shut it down because they didn't have the appropriate permission.

''Our officers would have come along and said the event couldn't go ahead.''

She said anyone seeking a refund should contact Consumer Direct on 08454 040506.

On its website, Lapland West Midlands promises an ''authentic taste of Christmas'' complete with reindeer and husky dogs, ice skating and ''real snow every hour''.

The council had urged families yesterday to ''think carefully'' before buying tickets, priced at £25 each, to the event.

The authority also expressed concern about the organiser's ability to deliver everything advertised as the site, a field next to a rural country road, did not have a permit for reindeer and dogs.

The location's suitability for a large amount of traffic was also questioned by the council.

Trading standards officials received more than 2,000 complaints about the attraction at Matchams Leisure Park, on the Dorset-Hampshire border.

Police were at today's event to make sure there was no disorder after there were reports of violence flaring at the site near Ringwood, with Santa being punched in the face and elves also pushed by angry visitors.