The new owners of Herne Bay’s only indoor play centre say they are determined to restore its reputation.

Fiona Rennie and Teresa Hertzer, both 49, took control of the Hippodrome in King’s Road on Friday last week.

And top of their agenda is winning back the trust of parents who abandoned the centre after its previous owner landed in court when a six-year-old girl’s fingers were slashed in a fan.

Mum-of-four Fiona, a paramedic, says health and safety is a key priority for the new regime and she is optimistic about the centre’s success.

She said: “It’s quite difficult to shake off the reputation, but we hope to quickly win people over in the town.

“I work shifts as a paramedic and Teresa is a former teaching assistant, so between us we have got a combination of good skills and awareness of health and safety.

“The Hippodrome is the only play centre in town and we’ve had mums talking about the fact we are making changes.

“Word is getting around. It’s very pleasing and I can’t quite believe how busy we have been already.”

New plans for the centre include a quiet reading area for parents to go with their children and improvements in the upstairs party area.

The pair also want to hear from parents who may have ideas.

Fiona, who has triplets, and Teresa, a mum to twins, met at a Multiple Mayhem Club in Thanet and together decided to take on the Hippodrome.

Fiona explained: “Maybe we were having a bit of a mid-life crisis deciding to take on this centre, but we both wanted to run our own business.

“Teresa liked the idea of running a quaint coffee shop, but I’m a bit too mad for that, so this is our compromise.

“It’s a real family business. Teresa’s husband is a carpenter so we’re finding out he is very useful for us. I’m married to an electrician.

“We’ve got six daughters between us, who are all helping out.

“My eldest is 28 and my triplets are teenagers, so they will get some good work experience here, too.

“They are already dressing up as party hostesses and different characters for parties, like Spiderman or Elsa from Disney’s Frozen.”