A dad has told how he finally secured a refund for the shambolic Teesside Airshow – but only after he took the organisers to court.

Ian Bosher was caught up in the traffic chaos which ensued around Teesside Airport on June 11 for the airshow’s hotly anticipated return.

The Richmond dad, who spent nearly an hour and a half queueing to get into the event before deciding to turn around, tried to claim a refund from organisers SkyLive Air through their official process.

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But when the company refused to give him a refund for his tickets he took them to court and has finally managed to get his money back.

The Northern Echo: The air show, which was held on Saturday June 11 was plagued by traffic problems. Picture: JIM SCOTTThe air show, which was held on Saturday June 11 was plagued by traffic problems. Picture: JIM SCOTT

Ian, 50, a Road Safety Trainer, told The Northern Echo: “I wasn’t that bothered about the money but I just had to do it out of principle.

“Me, my wife and our son spent nearly an hour and a half in the queue on the A67 and only got half the way to the entrance before we decided to abort and turn around.

The Northern Echo: Ian Bosher. Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTIan Bosher. Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

“I tried getting a refund from SkyLive by sending off my tickets but never got any money back. When I eventually managed to get in touch with them they told me I’d missed their deadline and they tried to get out of giving me any money back.

“There must be hundreds or thousands of people who were in the same situation who’ve just given up, but I wanted to show that you can get your money back.”

Ian made a claim through the online money claims court and secured a County Court Judgement  (CCJ) against SkyLive after they failed respond to the claim.

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SkyLive was ordered to pay £77.88 to Mr Bosher, £42.88 which he was owed for his tickets and £35 in costs.

He added: “It’s really simple to do online and only costs £35 but you can win that back.

“The CCJ came through last month then I got a cheque from SkyLive a couple of weeks ago.”

To get a refund disappointed punters were asked to send their tickets back to organisers SkyLive by July 4, paying extra for postage and for a stamped return envelope which they were asked to include.

The Northern Echo: Thousands going to the airshow were forced to watch the displays from the roadside. Picture: CRAIG STODDARTThousands going to the airshow were forced to watch the displays from the roadside. Picture: CRAIG STODDART

The Northern Echo previously reported how a County Durham woman was told by SkyLive she wouldn’t be issued a refund because she was a day late sending off her tickets on July 5.

A damning report into the airshow highlighted a ‘number of shortcomings’ in the planning which caused the event to descend into chaos with huge queues of traffic.

The Northern Echo: Mr Bosher took the organisers of Teesside Airshow to court. Picture: SARAH CALDECOTTMr Bosher took the organisers of Teesside Airshow to court. Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

It said it was ‘incredibly disappointing’ that the airshow was ‘overshadowed’ by ‘serious traffic issues’ and said it was ‘very unlikely’ Teesside Airport would host the event again.

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