A family run soft play centre in Southampton has closed after nearly 20 years in business with bosses saying the hot summer and financial pressures has made it impossible for them to continue.
Jungle Jeans, which opened off of West Quay Road in May 2007 to honour the memory of the owner's mum, has suffered from a lack of trade during the summer's heatwaves and current economic difficulties.
A social media post this week was greeted with an outpouring of adoration from hundreds of 'heartbroken' families who thanked the Jungle Jeans team for all the memories.
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A sympathetic post from staff at Play Shack in Hedge End was among hundreds of comments and pictures shared by families who have used the soft play centre over the years or enjoyed birthday, Christmas and Halloween parties there.
Jungle Jeans was run by former children's entertainer Nicola and Imed Ferjani, a catering manager, and was inspired by Nikki's late mum Jean Harris, who worked for many years as a classroom assistant in a Southampton school for children with servere learning and physical disabilites.
Writing on Facebook, Nikki said: "This is possibly the hardest post for us to make. As many of you have noticed Jungle Jeans has been closed for a few weeks now. With great sadness and heartbreak and after 19 years we are unable to continue. The hot summer with lack of trade and financial economic pressures placed upon us, we are having to close our doors permanently.
"We have had so many successful years and are super proud of what we managed to achieve in memory of my mum. We are so grateful to have had the privilege to have seen your children grow and flourish, so much joy from their smiles, laughter and happy faces.
"We'd like to thank each and every one of you for your custom and loyalty over so many years."
The closure of Jungle Jeans follows the collapse of other city centre soft play centres in recent years. Injoy at Ocean Village closed suddenly two years ago, while Sea Life in The Marlands shopping centre closed its doors a year ago.
Wacky Kingdom is currently under construction next to Showcase Cinema in Westquay.
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