He runs Adlington-based Ice Adventure, which provides synthetic ice skating rinks to a variety of venues and was used in Chorley town centre last November.

According to Mr Walton, skating on a synthetic ice rink is easier than real ice and people are less likely to fall over.

Ice Adventure was set up in November 2007 and employs two full-time staff and one casual.

He said: "Currently our biggest ice rink is 9m x 8m which will accommodate 30 skaters at a time.

"We also have another size available, 11m x 6m, which will take 20 skaters. However, these ice rinks can be made in many different sizes, ranging from 66m square to 200m square, if that's what people want.

"All that is required is a firm flat surface. We can build them on grass, concrete or on wooden floors indoors."

Mr Walton said in some respects synthetic ice was better and more convenient than the real thing.

He explained: "The synthetic surface is a fantastic alternative to real ice. Real ice reduces in quality quite rapidly as people skate over it.

After a few hours of skating real ice is reduced down to 68 per cent and then it needs treating again.

"A synthetic surface is cleaned and sprayed with glycol which gives the surface a smooth finish.

"There are no bumps or edges as all the sections are held together with H-tongs.

"We have had numerous professional skaters on our ice rink during the past 12 months and the average rating they give it is eight out of 10."

And, according to the businessman, there's no sign of trade melting away.

He said: "We had lots of demand in 2007 without advertising, 2008 has seen the ice rink visit events during the summer! We have doubled our hires in November and December 2008 compared to last year.

"We have some work for January plus we are already getting inquiries for next Christmas."

However ice rinks are not Mr Walton's only business interest.

He said: "I provide quality inflatables, rodeo bulls and many other amusement attractions to schools, football clubs, business, councils and large events via my other company called Cals Castles, which has been running since 2001 and has become very successful and continues to grow."

He said every job was different but one memorable day was when children from a special school were able to get on the ice, including a wheelchair-bound youngster and a blind boy.

He said: "It's jobs like that that make everything worthwhile. The enjoyment on their faces was priceless."