A LEIGH family are demanding compensation after branding New Year celebrations at a Blackpool hotel a big let-down.

The Feeneys have written to management at the Pleasant Hotel on North Shore in the resort to express their disgust.

Eight of them booked into the hotel to celebrate the start of 1999.

They say their break cost them £99 per person for New Year's Eve and Day, with discounts for children.

Barbara Feeney, of Cecil Street, Leigh, said: "We were very disappointed with the general standard.

"We paid good money and feel we certainly did not get value for money."

Mrs Feeney outlined a series of complaints in a five page letter - she claimed rooms smelt damp, food was inedible and entertainment was not what was promised when she booked.

The Feeneys, who all have Scottish roots, were particularly upset that traditional bagpipe players did not appear in the main function room at midnight.

She said: "We were really looking forward to the pipers, but the disco just kept on playing and we didn't get the chance to enjoy them."

A spokesman for hotel manager Brendan McNulty said he could not comment on any complaints until he saw them in writing.

"We have lots of guests who come back time after time," he said.

Another family, the Hayes from Blackpool, have also written to the hotel to complain.

They claimed en suite rooms were booked but not provided and complained about food served on a tray in the hotel foyer.

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