A water park owed more than £250,000 to creditors when it went into administration - including £38,000 in customers deposits, financial documents have showed.

Ipswich Star: Figures from Aqua Park Suffolk Ltd's liquidators say a total of �38,056 paid to the company were customer despoits Picture: AQUA PARKS GROUPFigures from Aqua Park Suffolk Ltd's liquidators say a total of �38,056 paid to the company were customer despoits Picture: AQUA PARKS GROUP (Image: Archant)

Aqua Park Suffolk near Ipswich was set for a bumper outdoor season when it arrived at Alton Water in 2018 but ended up being blighted by poisonous blue-green algae, which forced it to close for business for two summers.

Aqua Park Suffolk Ltd went into administration in August 2019, with customers being told they would only be offered credit to be used at Aqua Park Ltd's sites in Rutland and Cardiff - at least 110 miles away.

Now financial documents filed by LB Insolvency on behalf of Aqua Park Suffolk Ltd showed the company owed £271,739 to its creditors - £38,056 of which was customer deposits under the heading "unsecured non-preferential claims" in its summary of liabilities.

Alde Valley Academy in Leiston booked a school trip to the water park as a reward for 250 students in the last week of their summer term.

Ipswich Star: Two more Aqua Park locations are still open in the UK - in Rutland and Cardiff Picture: AQUA PARKS GROUPTwo more Aqua Park locations are still open in the UK - in Rutland and Cardiff Picture: AQUA PARKS GROUP (Image: Archant)

The school treats its hardest-working students every term to a special treat and chose the park as a perfect way to let the kids blow off steam.

Payments from parents for the cost of the trip totalled £1,700. The school claims the money has not yet been refunded and the loss is impacting other activities the school runs.

Headteacher Dan Mayhew said: "The trip was cancelled just days before the children were supposed to go.

"We refunded the parents because we felt it was the right thing to do, but it means at the moment the school is out of pocket.

"This money has had to come from somewhere, it means it's taken away from our other resources and extra-curricular activities."

Aqua Park Ltd is a separate company to Aqua Park Suffolk Ltd and is not liable for the latter's deposits.

In the Aqua Park FAQ section, the company say they have "no refunds policy", but will let customers get the value of their tickets back as credit if they cancel more than 10 days before their session.

However, two customers who have spoken to this newspaper say they have received refunds.

Aqua Park Suffolk and LB Insolvency Solutions were approached for comment.