Mother blasts Nottingham arena for charging her £21 for a 'rank' burger and ... trends now

A horrified mother has blasted the Nottingham arena for charging her an 'extortionate' £21 for a 'rank' burger and small fizzy drink as it joins the hall of shame among other stadium rip-off dishes.

Jules Spence, 46, was visiting Motorpoint Arena Nottingham to watch her two daughters Poppy, 14, and Ellie Spence, 11, compete in a cheerleading competition on March 16 when she was served a 'sloppy and awful' burger and chips.

The frazzled mother-of-three was responsible for four costume and hair changes throughout the 13-hour day and did not have time to leave the area and eat as she wanted to cheer them on.

Desperate for a meal, Ms Spence rushed to one of the arena's fast food huts to when she had a spare ten minutes in between performances.

Ms Spence ordered a chicken burger and small diet coke but was left completely stunned when the marketing manager said it would cost her £21.50. She initially thought it was a 'wind-up' before allegedly being told 'yeah it's steep'.

After forking out the cash, Ms Spence tucked into the burger and chips but described it as 'sloppy and awful'.

She shared the 'rank' meal on social media where users flocked to the post branding the price 'shocking' and 'ridiculous'.

Motorpoint Arena Nottingham, which is set to host James Blunt, Elbow and Pet Shop Boys in the coming weeks, apologised for Jules' experience but said the price for the meal should have been £16.60.

The arena argued that their prices are 'dictated by the increasing cost of raw ingredients, power, staffing' and believe they are in line with offerings at other arenas.

Ms Spence, from Glasgow, Scotland, said: 'I thought I'd misheard at first, I thought it was a wind up.

'The burger [and chips] and the drink was £21. When they said 'it's £21' I said 'are you kidding me?'. I was shocked.

'I wasn't rude but I was quite shocked, I knew I'd ordered and I had to pay. The staff working there were very nice but they said 'yeah it's steep'.

'The burger was horrible. It was really sloppy, it tasted awful, it wasn't hot, it wasn't good at all.

'I just feel they're taking advantage knowing people are in their venue and trusting that people won't want to leave.

'I feel the prices are extortionate and especially in a financial crisis. That weekend it was all families - it's expensive and they must make an absolute fortune.

'Somebody brought the chips over and the person said 'oh there's no chips with this'. They talked about it and then said 'just take them'.'

The arena claim the chicken burger and drink meal automatically comes with chips.

The supportive mother who'd splashed out £1,000 on the competition in total including travel, and entrance fees, said she was forced to rely on arena-bought food due to time constraints.

Ms Spence said: 'The girls had hotdogs earlier in the day. I was really hungry and starting to struggle, which is why I chose to get something there.

'I went to see what was there. I had a glance at the prices but I didn't take them in.

'They had loads of stuff up on the boards, I'm annoyed at myself.