HAVING visited the Yorkfest on Knavesmire I felt I must write with a word of warning to other parents.

We arrived in the late afternoon for a quick visit and were surprised to see it was very quiet, even though it was a holiday weekend.

We soon found out why, the advertised price of a £9.99 wristband is not a value option, it is in fact the only option.

Although we were told we could go into the fair for £2 each, we would not be able to go on any rides without a wristband.

Because I had promised my daughter a trip to the fair we bought a wristband for her, but not for ourselves or our toddler.

We then found that there were only a handful of rides suitable for her age group - she is four - and because we had not bought wristbands we were unable to accompany her on to the bigger rides.

But at a cost of nearly £40 for us all to have a wristband we gave the Big Wheel a miss. It also cost us a small fortune in refreshments.

Although the children enjoyed their time at the fair I should definitely have given it a miss had I known what to expect. I came away feeling fleeced and a more cynical person may think it was a definite ploy to exploit parents who, having arrived at the fair, are then faced with the choice between paying up more than they may have expected or disappointing their children.

Mrs J McCafferty,

Hardrada Way,

Stamford Bridge, York.

Updated: 11:26 Wednesday, June 02, 2004