KATE NEWTON
A Hastings mother of five disappointed boys is asking for a refund after the promised monster trucks at last Saturday's Full Throttle Auto X event were nowhere to be seen.
Event organiser Craig Douglas had advertised the Super Monster Trucks as the major drawcard for the automotive show but wasn't
able to deliver on the day because of a dispute with the trucks' owner.
Super Monster Trucks manager Stan Pratt is claiming Mr Douglas, of Christchurch, owes Super Monster Trucks more than $10,000 for a previous show at Ruapuna, near Christchurch, and they had refused to bring the trucks from Hamilton for Saturday's event at the Hawke's Bay Showgrounds.
But Tiffany Hutley and her family were the real victims on the day.
Mrs Hutley and her five sons had enjoyed burn-out competitions in the past so she had bought a family pass to Auto X, worth $50, as a surprise for the family.
"Imagine our disappointment then to arrive and find that our drawcard wasn't appearing," she said.
The boys, ranging from four to 11, were not impressed. Mr Douglas had also advertised the event would go on into "the small hours" but Mrs Hutley said it was all over by 4.30pm.
A large fireworks display to close the event had also been promised but hadn't happened because of "the concerns of some people".
Mr Douglas and his colleague Deborah Russell wouldn't say who had told them they could not have the display. All Mr Douglas would say about Saturday's event was "it could have been better".
Last month Hawke's Bay Today published a story on bikini model Alyse Hedley who had not being paid for her involvement in the Freestyle MotoXXX event, organised by Mr Douglas at the Pettigrew-Green Arena in March 2005.
Ms Hedley said Mr Douglas had since paid her after the article ran, but only $20 an hour rather than the $35 she had been promised.
Her story prompted Rockgas Hawke's Bay manager Carol Daly to tell Hawke's Bay Today they were also still waiting for payment of $242.65 for the LPG they supplied for the Freestyle MotoXXX event.
