It was 'always planned' that Blackgang Chine would close Monday to Thursday throughout the majority of September and October this year, the company behind the iconic Isle of Wight attraction insists.

And Robin Hill's Polar event, in December, has been reduced to five days, but only because of the popularity of one of its new events, Vectis Ventures has said.

The firm has come in for criticism from holders of Frequent Visitor Passes, who claim the terms and conditions of their FVPs have been 'changed' following the unexpected closure of Robin Hill.

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In the wake of the park closing earlier than usual, dozens of workers were let go, as the County Press exclusively revealed, and pass holders were told they can instead visit Blackgang.

However, visitors have pointed out it is only open Friday to Sunday, as opposed to weekdays (other than October half-term).

According to its website, last year Blackgang was open daily from August 30, through to October half-term.

One FVP holder told the County Press they had spent £99 on a pass for both parks, but is unable to visit Blackgang during the week and cannot go to Robin Hill because it is closed.

She said she was 'insulted' by the offer of £10 to be spent at Blackgang, which is almost equivalent to the price in which a joint FVP rose by this year.

Vectis Ventures said its Friday to Saturday operating hours at Blackgang this year have always been advertised on its website opening times calendar and have not changed.

A spokesperson added there have already been midweek closures during its off-peak season at the beginning of the year.

It has also been confirmed that the dates of the December Polar event have been reduced to five days.

It was previously advertised for selected dates between December 9 to December 20. It will now go ahead from December 20 to December 24.

A spokesperson said: "This is purely to free up further availability for our newly-launched Woodland Christmas Parties which proved to be incredibly popular, selling out our initially planned four dates within weeks.

"Therefore we have opened additional dates to meet demand they too are almost fully booked."

Vectis Ventures blamed the weather, the economy and a 'challenging summer' for the Robin Hill closure.