Heatwave: Frustration as Walsall Arboretum 'splash pad' closes

The "splash pad" at Walsall Arboretum is subject to "essential repairs", disappointing some users

Parents have complained about the loss of water at a "splash pad" play area on one of the hottest days of the year.

Walsall Council announced on Facebook on Monday the facility at Walsall Arboretum had been closed, with a user responding the water "went off the moment my daughter took her shoes off".

Local temperatures reached about 30C (86F) on Monday.

The authority said the play area was shut for essential repairs.

It reopened on Tuesday afternoon but the council did not reveal more details about the closure.

It is unclear whether the repairs were pre-planned or enforced, and whether on a hot day the council cut off the water, or technical issues left the site dry.

A statement on Facebook said: "The Arboretum Splash Pad is currently closed for essential repairs. Our engineers will have [it] back up and running as soon as possible."

Another person responded to the post by saying: "As soon as I got there yesterday, it broke."

A similar facility elsewhere in the West Midlands has also been closed during the heatwave, for which the Met Office issued an extreme weather warning for Sunday.

The area at Brinton Park, Kidderminster, has been shut "until further notice" due to a major leak, Wyre Forest District Council said on 30 June.

That authority said the site's main pump and filter needed replacing and, once work was completed, it would have to run for a month before it could reopen to the public safely.