Man who stole Christmas may lose house

THE man who stole Christmas from thousands of children faces the threat of being homeless from today.

Adrian Smith, the man behind the collapsed Winter Wonderland event in the Curragh, must make his case to his county registrar today or he could lose his 1 million mansion.

The 35-year-old father of four who fled to England when reports of the Winter Wonderland closure broke, has mortgage arrears with Irish Nationwide. The financial institution has threatened to repossess his 10-bedroom mansion in Co Laois unless he makes his case in court this morning.

Irish Nationwide is suing Adrian and Amanda Smith on foot of the mortgage arrears. A fortnight ago, the bank lodged proceedings before court registrar James Cahill. The proceedings today could lead to a judgement against the couple and repossession of their home, worth an estimated 1 million.

The couple were not in court two weeks ago. They must give notice today of their intention to make their case. If they do not, the county registrar can make an immediate judgement concerning the matter and repossess their home.

Alternatively, they may be given a further 10 days to file a full defence, the court service confirmed.

The Smiths are expected to be represented in court again today by Portlaoise solicitors AJ Duncan and Company.

Winter Wonderland would have opened its doors to the public in late November. Instead, thousands who paid for tickets, as well as sick children in the Heart Children Ireland group, were left out in the cold.

As a goodwill gesture, Santa’s Kingdom, a totally separate venture at Punchestown Racecourse, is entertaining six thousand children disappointed by the closure of Winter Wonderland.