KIDS were left in tears after they were cruelly turned away from meeting TV cartoon favourite Bluey.
Families shelled out up to £125 to meet the beloved pup from Down Under at a steam train event in Skipton, North Yorkshire.
But children on the last train ride of the day were told there was not enough time to grab a snap with the Aussie mascot.
Staff shut the meet-and-greet tent and told fuming parents: "It's 4pm - our time's up. We're not staying."
One dad described it as "an absolute joke" - adding: "People paid loads of money for their kids to meet Bluey but were told he had to go home.
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"They shut the tent at 4pm on the dot before people had even got off the train."
Another fumed: "Having a person shut the tent in our faces at a planned event, telling us that they do not have time for our children to see the character they had actually booked to see through no fault of our own, is an absolute disgrace.
"We had our four grandchildren with us, one of which is disabled.
"We had to wait for his chair to be able to enter the tent.
"However this wasn’t long at all and there was a queue of people in front so we could not understand the problem. She rudely told us to go see the office."
They had booked and paid and the children wanted to see Bluey
Another said: "Was very upset to see the woman who was with Bluey turn away a family.
"The family she rudely turned away had a disabled child and probably had to wait for everyone to get off the train and wait for their child's wheelchair to be brought.
"There was more than one child in the group that was turned away even though they had booked and paid.
"One of the dads was trying to explain they had booked and paid and the children wanted to see Bluey.
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"She accused him of threatening her when he did no such thing!
"There were loads of children patiently queuing and she threatened to take Bluey away before they could see her.
"I was thinking of booking to see Paw Patrol but I won't be now."
One parent whose child did manage to get a snap with Bluey said: "I wasn't sure what to expect but getting a train ride to a boring and empty marquee, rushed through, a quick photo with someone in a Bluey outfit and that was it.
"Disappointing that staff or no one was allocated to take family photos."
London-based Rainbow Productions holds the official licence to manage Bluey's personal appearances.
The firm's managing director Simon Foulkes said: "I had been made aware of a situation which occurred yesterday and have resolved it directly with the family to their satisfaction.
"I reached out to the family affected and apologised that their experience was below their expectations and have rescheduled another visit to the railway station in the near future."
The cartoon, which first launched in Australia in 2018, follows a six-year-old cattle farm puppy as well as her friends and family.
The first season alone has been streamed more than 100m times on BBC iPlayer.
A TikTok user surprised many parents last year with a viral video explaining just what is going on in the cartoon's introduction.
The cartoon has also inspired mums to try making Bluey cakes, though several have been mocked after being shared online - including one compared to a platypus and another whose creator admitted hers was an "absolute abomination".
