Angry theatre-goers are accusing bosses at the Marlowe of "appalling customer service" in a row over ticket refunds due to the bad weather.

Many who had booked to see the hit musical Take That tribute show The Band in Canterbury were this week unable or unwilling to venture out because of the severe snow and icy conditions.

But when they asked the theatre for seats on an alternative night or a refund, they say they were given the cold shoulder.

Writing on the theatre's Facebook page, Clare Davis said she bought her tickets for last night's show as a Christmas present.

She wrote: "Due to the severe weather, I can't even get off my drive because of the snow and the roads are completely covered with thick with ice.

"I rang the theatre and asked if it be would be possible to move them to another show as they cost almost £90, which is a lot of money that I had to work hard for, but their attitude on the phone was not helpful at all.

"It's disgusting that you expect paying customers to put their safety at risk just because you can't do a simple thing like change tickets to another date or show.

"It would have been the first time that I went to the Marlowe but I will not be using them again due to the appalling customer service I received."

Ricky Stankovitch, from Faversham, says his wife and daughter had been looking forward to the show when the blizzards struck.

He told the Gazette: "I asked if I could swap two tickets for another night due to the severe snow we have had.

"The lady said 'if our staff get in then you can'. The A2, M2 and A249 were blocked and it's very dangerous to be driving at 10.15pm when the show ends. Both my wife and daughter could be stuck in Canterbury.

"I told them that to lose £100 was disgusting when they still had lots of empty seats for the other shows."

Another who contacted the Gazette but did not want to be named said they were a Marlowe Friends member but are now threatening to boycott the theatre.

"I am so angry with the theatre," they said.

"I asked if they expected me to drive and possibly die on our way if we crashed and the lady said 'well, it’s your choice'.

"I've had enough. There were no managers or supervisors in the building. It's a joke and the theatre should not be run this way."

Marlowe bosses say they have "every sympathy" with customers who cannot get to the show, but its policy is in line with many other theatres across the county.

Paula Gillespie, acting theatre director, said: “We have all been affected by this unusually severe weather; it has been a very challenging week for the theatre as our cast, crew and staff have made every possible effort to keep this week’s shows running.

"While we do have every sympathy with those customers who have been unable to make a performance of The Band, we are unfortunately unable to offer refunds.

"We do offer ticket exchanges, five days before a performance, but when we are inside this period, tickets can only be exchanged or refunded, when a performance is cancelled.

"As the shows all went ahead as planned, our contractual agreement with the producers of the show meant that we would not be able to refund the cost of tickets to those customers who could not make it.

"Also, it was not possible for us to exchange tickets for an alternative performance of the show as, due its immense popularity, there would not have been enough seats left to reallocate tickets to all those planning to attend on the days when we had wintry weather."

The show runs until tomorrow.