SOME parents are angry they couldn’t get a refund on tickets for a school panto trip cancelled because of bad weather.

About 140 Year 1 pupils from Mersea Island School had tickets to see Aladdin at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester, on Friday.

Headteacher Nicky Sirett decided to cancel the coach, worried about sending a coach-load of youngsters off the island in icy conditions.

The coach company agreed to refund half the money parents paid, but the Mercury says it cannot reimburse them because the performance went ahead as scheduled.

Parent Paul Dibell said: “The school rightly took the decision it was too dangerous to send a coach full of young children on the trip.

“The bus company transporting the children had also expressed concerns over the extremely low temperatures, particularly for the return journey in the evening.

“The stance by the Mercury has left a bitter taste and shown no goodwill or community spirit in the exceptional event of such low temperatures and snow for this time of year.”

Although the coach was cancelled, about 70 youngsters with tickets were driven to the Mercury by their parents, with Miss Sirett going along to ensure the parents were allowed in with their children.

However, not all parents were able to make the trip and some did not realise they had the option of driving to Colchester, as the school was closed on Friday because of the snow.

Miss Sirett said: “We have an e-mail system for contacting parents and some got the message and were able to get there.

“It was a difficult situation because, after all, the show did go ahead.

“We are talking about 140 kids and all the school panto performances are now booked up. The theatre just wouldn’t have room for us at another show.”

A Mercury Theatre spokesman said: “All our school performances are full but we are looking to see what we can do in early January, with some sort of ticket deal for those who could not attend.”

Miss Sirett added it was also hoped a favourite panto cast member – Widdecombe the camel – might pay the school a visit.