Children's entertainer Uncle Wiggy faces an agonising wait by the phone after he lost details of all of his bookings.

The popular magician, balloon modeller and Punch and Judy showman has no idea where or when he is booked, because his electronic diary failed to back up his details properly.

Uncle Wiggy — real name Barry Hopkins — said he estimated hundreds of children were in danger of 'major disappointment' if he cannot work out where he is due to perform.

The electronic disaster could also cost also him up to £3,000 if he does not fulfil the 20 or 30 bookings he took for the run up to Christmas.

Now the 50-year-old father-of-three is appealing for anyone who has booked him to get in touch via a local rate telephone number he has set up specially to try to get him back on track.

He said: "I lost the bookings on Sunday. The PDA just died on me. I just felt sick.

"In 18 years, I think I have missed bookings twice.

"One was because I was ill and the other was because it was a nice day and I was working in the garden and I totally forgot."

Mr Hopkins, who lives in Wantage and used to run Wiggy's World in Abingdon, said he was booked up to five times a day in the run-up to Christmas.

He said he could not take new bookings until he had sorted out his old ones for fear of double booking.

He added: "I'm very concerned, because I know the upset it can cause. When I have been late for whatever reason, I have seen the panic in the parents' eyes and the relief when I arrive.

"There are some children who really look forward to seeing me. They would be majorly disappointed if I didn’t turn up."

In addition to the new phone number, Mr Hopkins has telephoned local nurseries and left messages on his website in the hope that he will alert parents who have booked him.

He said: "I want to be able to honestly say I did my best to contact all my bookings.

"If I can’t contact them then I will have to sit in my costume ready to go and hopefully they'll ring me with enough notice to get there when they realise I am late.

"It is the biggest problem I have had in 18 years — and the greatest nightmare anyone who runs a diary could have."