Michelle Burns, from Craigyhill, had arranged to use the Greenland Community Centre through the council to host her daughter Karla's ninth birthday party. She had booked the centre back in June and paid £10 to confirm the arrangement last week.

It had been arranged for a keyholder to let the party in at 5.30pm last Friday but no-one turned up.

To make matters worse a heavy shower soaked the party of around a dozen adults and 14 children, forcing the grown-ups to bundle children into cars to try and keep them dry.

Michelle said: "We were told the door would be open for 5.30pm. We waited outside with the food until 6.00pm and nobody opened up. There was a thundery shower, really heavy rain and we were saturated. We only had one or two cars and tried to keep the children dry."

Daughter Karla, Michelle said, was upset by the experience. "Her party was completely ruined except that the Pigeon Club stepped in at the last minute."

She paid tribute to nearby Larne Pigeon Club, whose members initially helped the birthday party by bringing the food indoors to stop it getting wet then offered use of the building. But it was only by chance the club could accommodate the party, as the premises were not being used for a full meeting.

Michelle says the group managed to get a party going in the end but the overall experience was of a decidedly waterlogged affair. "My mother was there, she's just out of the hospital and was left standing on crutches. I don't know what we would have done if the pigeon club hadn't stepped in.

"The children and the other parents were absolutely disgusted."

Friends, relatives and schoolmates had all been invited. Karla's friends, many of them fellow pupils at Olderfleet Primary, had known about the party before the school holidays started. Karla had been very excited all summer, Michelle said, adding: "Your birthday only comes once a year. As an adult you can get past it but children do look forward to it and for that to happen was a disaster. The child was crying in the car and thought she wasn't going to have a party."

Michelle subsequently contacted the Times to say the council apologised and offered the use of facilities at Larne swimming pool and a day out in Carnfunnock Park.

A Larne Council spokeswoman confirmed that the authority apologised to the organisers of the party planned for Greenland Community Centre "after an administrative error with booking which resulted in a failure to open the venue for the party."

In a statement, the spokeswoman said: "The Council deeply regrets this unprecedented error in its booking arrangements for this venue and has apologised to the family and wishes to extend those apologies to the other parents and children who had been invited.