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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Callum Cuddeford & Milica Cosic

Ice rink WITHOUT ICE leaves kids 'tap dancing' as shoppers left baffled

Parents were left horrified after their children ended up looking like "tap dancers" after a shopping centre put up a synthetic ice rink.

A shopping centre in North London has now been slammed after it put up a free ice rink for children to enjoy around the festive period, without one crucial ingredient - the ice.

Youngsters ended up looking like penguins on ice after the St Anne's Road in Harrow Town Centre put up plastic tiles, advertising the rink as a 'Skating Rink'.

Parents and carers took to social media to share photos and videos of the bizarre set up, as their children - wearing ice skates - tried to push off the plastic tiles, report MyLondon.

However, they seemingly got nowhere as they were defeated by the laws of friction.

One person, who called the scene a 'simulation', wrote on TikTok: "No, only in Harrow. Only in Harrow will they have a floor, a literal floor where they are skating on."

Others also wrote: "Harrow is definitely not a real place."

While a third chimed in saying: "Harrow is just a fever dream."

And a fourth concerned person wrote: "That is so dangerous, ice skates need to dig in to give you support."

Others went to point out out a man was still wearing shoes while on the rink, while the children were strangely skating in complete silence.

And - most ridiculously - a child was spotted walking around the 'ice' with a plastic penguin to help them stand up straight on the fake ice.

Other TikTok users suggested that the place should have thrown baby oil to lubricate the floor to mimic the feel of ice.

However, it seems that the iceless ice rink is not new in Harrow though.

One woman spotted the strange attraction back in 2012, and tweeted a photo of families playing on the same tiles that were spotted this year round.

And back then, residents also slammed the rink as "naff" with one user saying "the ice rink in Harrow is a joke".

We Are Harrow boasted of the free skating on their social media, encouraging parents to come and make use of the skating for their children. The business improvement district team warned time on the ice would be limited to 30 minutes if it got busy.

The rink is part of a wider festive transformation for the town centre over Christmas.

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