England captain John Terry has told disappointed fans he never agreed to open a snake shop after hundreds of people were left standing.

Crowds flocked to see the Chelsea star at the opening of Reptile Kingdom in Surbiton after owner Terrence Clark announced the footballer would cut the ribbon.

But Terry did not appear and later insisted no agreement had ever been struck.

Excitement had been growing over Terry’s alleged appearance at the reptile shop after it released a flyer stating “VIP guest opening by John Terry of Chelsea Football Club”.

But in a statement, the defender said any advertising or announcements to say he would be attending were made without his knowledge or consent.

He said: “There appears to be some confusion regarding my attendance at an opening of a pet shop today in Surbiton.

“For the avoidance of doubt, I had not agreed to attend the opening of this or any other shop today. I had been asked if I would consider the opportunity and declined on two separate occasions. That is as far as the matter went. “No agreement was made for me to attend or any plans put in place by me or the football club.

“I very much regret any distress or disappointment that may have been suffered by the public.”

But Mr Clark, who joint owns the store with his business partner Ryan Dunbar, later insisted there was an understanding Terry would come and it had been arranged through a mutual friend.

He said: “I’m sure if we were lying we would have been contacted by the club in the time.

“A lot of people felt for us. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed but we turned it around.

“We did everything we possibly could to make sure everyone was still upbeat about the whole situation. We turned a negative situation into a positive day.”

But some fans were left bitterly disappointed by the saga at the shop in Ewell Road, which sells a variety of reptiles, including chameleons, lizards and mountain horned dragons.

Amanda Barrett, 37, from New Malden, described the event as “false advertising” and was disappointed her children did not get a chance to see Terry.

In response, Mr Clark said: “It would make no business sense at all to falsely advertise the appearance of a Chelsea captain that didn’t show up.”