Creditors of the failed Magical Journey festive attraction at The Belfry, which was created by TV star Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, are owed almost £900,000.

Accountancy firm Chantrey Vellacott has been appointed liquidator of Magical Journeys Ltd following a difficult period for the festive attraction in the run-up to Christmas after it was deluged with complaints from angry parents.

The attraction in Wishaw was shut down amid complaints about Santa handing out unwrapped, cheap plastic toys and long queues for various attractions with some describing the experience as "far from magical".

Craig Povey and Kevin Murphy, insolvency partners from Chantrey Vellacott, were appointed joint liquidators yesterday at a creditors' meeting held at the accountancy firm's office in Birmingham.

The appointment follows a referral from a fellow independent member of accountancy association DFK International based in Ireland.

Mr Povey said creditors were owed in the region of £875,000 following the early closure of the attraction in December.

"The directors of Magical Journeys Ltd faced a number of significant challenges and attribute the failure to a combination of poor weather hampering site preparation, the temporary closure of the attraction leading to negative publicity which had an impact on ticket sales, and higher than anticipated costs," he said.

"When anticipated investment failed to materialise, they had no option but to close the attraction early.

"Following our appointment as liquidators, we are in the process of reviewing creditors' claims and investigating if there are any assets which can be realised, for the benefit of creditors.

"We'll be reporting back to creditors with the results of our investigations into the company's affairs in due course."