Some customers were so shocked by the length of the queues at an event at the Hop Farm Family Park that they turned round and went home again.

The event was a visit by characters from Paw Patrol - the popular animated children's TV series - to the attraction at Beltring near Paddock Wood, which drew huge crowds.

Angela Harris, from Snodland, who visited with her daughter and grandson on Wednesday, August 4 said: "The queues were horrendous. It was so crowded we didn't feel it was safe to let my two-year-old grandson get out of his buggy."

She said: "We got there about 11am. It took until 11.20 to get in, and by 11.40 we were back in the car going home.

"It was meant to have been a wonderful day out for my grandson, but it turned into a nightmare.

"I expected there to be some queues as it's the holidays, but what I wasn't expecting was the number of people once inside.

"It was stifling."

She said that ironically, the only social distancing that was enforced was if the children wanted to have their photo taken with the Paw Patrol characters Chase and Marshall. She said: "The children had to stand metres away from their heroes, it was ridiculous."

However, since July 19, social distancing is no longer required at events.

The Harris family had paid £3 admission for a timed slot, but they were not the only ones to complain.

Afterwards social media was littered with criticism of the event.

Josie Nettleingham said: "We queued to get in the car park, queued to get in and then once inside it was an absolute joke. The queue to see the animals was halfway down the farm. I didn't even bother to see how big the queues for the rides were. We left!"

Tracey Johnson said: "The queues were horrendous."

LJ Goodwin said: "The queue to see Paw Patrol was the whole way back from the toilet block to the museum."

She warned the Hop Farm: "You have a lot of angry people from our experience today."

Shannon McCarthy described the event as "an absolute disgrace."

While Caroline Sinclair said: "It was possibly the worst day out I've ever had. We even had to queue to get out."

Nicky Dune said: "We had pre-booked and had a time slot to arrive, so assumed there would be a limit to the number of people allowed to enter. I can't believe how many people were there."

Miguel Fenton, the marketing manager at the Hop Farm said: "We've had a great start to the holidays. With so many families choosing to spend their holidays here in the UK, it’s been wonderful seeing everyone having such fun here.

"Like with any attraction when there’s good weather in particular, whether it’s a beach resort, funfair or farm, people naturally gravitate towards outdoor entertainment.

"Wednesday was another busy day here and yes there were some queues, but nothing out of the ordinary.

"I’m sure we’re not the only visitor attraction who are busy.

"We also chose to continue measures following the release of recent restrictions - our staff wear protective masks and there are hand-sanitising points throughout the park.

"It is disappointing to hear a group of customers didn’t appreciate there might be queues during the summer holidays, but the majority by far enjoyed their day here”

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