With families looking to cut costs this summer, a packed lunch is the perfect way to save money on a day trip with the children.
But visitors to one of Britain’s most popular attractions are reacting with outrage at being searched for sandwiches at the gate and told they will have eat them outside or be turned away.
Instead, families who have paid upwards of £80 to visit Blackpool Pleasure Beach are told they can only consume food and drink bought inside the park complex.
If gate staff – branded ‘the sandwich police’ – find any snacks, they are told it will either be stored for the duration of their visit or they must eat it in a ‘designated picnic area’ outside.
The policy contrasts with other major destinations including Alton Towers, Legoland Windsor and London Zoo, all of which are happy to let visitors bring their own picnics.
Visitors to the Lancashire resort – which hosted Prince William on a friend’s stag weekend last year – were furious at the policy, which bosses blame on a lack of space.
David Hornby, who travelled up from West London during the Easter holidays, said: ‘On a trip to the Pleasure Beach with three young children, I brought sandwiches for their lunch, to try to keep the cost of the day within reasonable limits.
‘But when my bag was searched at the entrance, I was told our sandwiches were not allowed.
‘In these recession-hit times, when entrance wrist bands cost up to £32 each, are hard-working families on tight budgets really going to be deprived of the right to carry in a low cost lunch for kids?’
Yesterday Jayne Jones, 42, a bookmaker who was visiting Blackpool with her 12-year-old son, Ellis, said: ‘It is wrong. We all got searched when we when in.
‘It cost me £76 today and then I'm expected to pay more for food. And food prices are always more expensive in there than normal.
‘It could put people off.’
Her daughter Natalie, a 22-year-old shop assistant, added: ‘Families come here with picnics to keep the cost down and then are told to leave them at the entrance.
‘It's mean and pathetic. What are they going to do next? Eat the sandwiches in front of the families they've just taken them from?
‘I hope bosses think again.’
While barmaid Gemma Butterworth, 22, said: ‘Stopping people taking food in with them almost forces you to buy it when you are in there, and that's not fair.
‘If you have to buy food too, it makes it a very expensive day out.’
Blackpool Pleasure Beach – which claims to be Britain’s most popular tourist attraction with 6million visitors a year – said the policy had been in place for a number of years.
But it contrasts with Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures and London Zoo, all of which allow visitors to bring their own packed lunches.
A spokesman said: ‘Due to the intensity of rides and attractions within the 42 acre site, there is limited space, and so a dedicated picnic area has been created adjacent to the entrance of Pleasure Beach.
‘Allowances are made for guests with special dietary requirements and dedicated picnic areas are also provided for school parties booked in advance.
‘Storage facilities are provided for those who bring outside food to the park.’
A spokeswoman for Merlin theme parks – which operates Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington and Legoland Windsor – said: ‘While more and more people choose to eat in the park restaurants, we have always offered facilities for people to bring and eat their own picnics, and continue to do so.'
