TICKETS for a popular Christmas attraction will be on sale a month early due to high demand.

Stewarts Garden Centre will be selling tickets to meet Father Christmas and his real reindeer at its three centres including Christchurch and Broomhill, near Wimborne, on October 1.

Last year families were left disappointed after an issue with the online payment system left them unable to book tickets.

Around 10,000 people spent hours trying to book tickets and an email was triggered asking customers to call the centres, but only around 10 calls could be handled at any one time.

Instead, many people turned up at the centres in person hoping to buy tickets.

This year will be the earliest tickets have ever gone on sale and people will be able to buy tickets online through a brand-new website at www.stewarts.co.uk from 8.30am on October 1 or from a dedicated ‘Santa booking desk’ at the garden centres which will be signposted by a giant bauble . They will not be available by phone this year.

Stewarts said the new website is “more streamlined” to enable a simpler and faster booking experience for parents.

While a new payment gateway will be able to handle more payments being made simultaneously.

The day before tickets go on sale, Stewarts said the agency behind the new website will carry out testing to ensure the site delivers a “fast and reliable experience.”

The same number of tickets will be available this year as in 2017.

Terry Head, retail and marketing director at Stewarts Garden Centres, said his team is confident that the situation experienced with last year’s online booking problem will not reoccur this year.

He said: “We remain dedicated and are working extremely hard to offering a traditional festive Christmas experience that will be remembered by families for the pure joy and delight offered by our very special Christmas display.”

Santa’s arrival celebrations will begin when he arrives in a 1914 Rolls Royce Alpine Eagle on Saturday, November 24. He will arrive 10.15am at Christchurch and 1.15pm at Broomhill.

All Santa’s Winter Wonderlands will have a theme running through them this year, with an exclusive story in each for visitors to read as they visit the Winter Walkway with an activity booklet for children to complete.

Tickets for the Santa's Winter Wonderland cost £10.95 for children aged from seven months to 12-years-old and includes a free gift and entry is free for children aged up to six-months-old (no gift will be included).