PARR Hall bosses have come under fire from disappointed theatre-goers who say that comedy king Ken Dodd's new year performance at the venue fell on deaf ears.

Some unhappy visitors complained that they were unable to hear much of the show due to poor sound quality in some parts of the auditorium.

One audience member, from Widnes, said: "Mr Dodd was under the impression that most of his audience were either deaf or deceased due to the response he was receiving for his efforts.

"The fact is that the quality of sound delivered to the audience in the balcony was abysmal. The vast majority of Mr Dodd's quick one-liners and asides just could not be heard at all.

"Most of the time it was difficult to hear anything over the laughter of the people in the front rows, and only the front rows, and the repetitive 'what did he say' coming from the people sitting in the balcony.

"I think Mr Dodd and the rest of the performers deserve an apology."

A Warrington Borough Council spokesman apologised to anyone who felt that they could not hear properly on the night and added: "This was an unfortunate incident which affected a couple of rows in the circle.

"We have never had this problem before with that part of the auditorium.

"We are unable to rectify any errors mid-show and have to wait until the interval or the end of the performance, but we have had engineers looking at the problem."