Children were forced to wear their winter coats through a Christmas pantomime performance when a Southend theatre's heating system broke down.
Mother-of-two Rae Carlton left the Palace Theatre, London Road, Westcliff, in a rage after sitting through yesterday morning's performance of Pinocchio in the freezing cold.
A council spokesman said: "The heating system was not in operation after the main pump failed this morning. An engineer was called immediately but was unable to replace the part necessary.
"As a result, portable heaters were brought in as a temporary measure in time for the second performance. It would have been impractical for the Palace Theatre to contact all ticket holders in time for today's first performance, especially when it was not known what the problem was or whether it could be fixed until the engineer had arrived.
"The council would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused by this unfortunate event and would like to reassure all other spectators that this should not be a problem in the future.
"It is hoped that the heating will be fixed by tomorrow but portable heating will remain until the problem has been resolved just in case."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article