The boss of Silver Spring, the long-established mineral water company, has left suddenly after barely a year in the job.

Neill Cotton, managing director, is among around 30 staff who have lost their job in a further round of cost-cutting at the Folkestone firm.

Silver Spring, founded in the 1870s, went into administration last year owing £30m. Mr Cotton, a turnaround specialist, was brought in last July to sort out the firm's finances.

After it was saved from possible closure by a so-called pre-pack administration and equity injection by Privet Capital, Mr Cotton became managing director.

Silver Spring, which pioneered the Perfectly Clear flavoured water brand and makes soft drinks and mineral waters for supermarket labels, shed loss-making business and focused on its more successful operations. Some 60 jobs were axed in December.

Speaking in July, Mr Cotton said he was committed to new product launches and "motoring ahead with culture change." He was in for the long haul, saying it was his dream job. "My ambition is to see it as a £100m soft drinks company within the next five years," he said.

But the dream ended when Dean Taylor, operations director, told staff last week that Mr Cotton had been replaced.

In a statement, company chairman Jonathan Halford, said: "The board has had to make some difficult decisions to secure the long term future of Silver Spring and that includes streamlining our operation. It is with great regret therefore that we have had to make approximately 30 people redundant across the business. Neill Cotton has helped us move the company forward but is now standing down as we enter a new phase of development."

Gary West has replaced Mr Cotton as managing director, with Julian Aitken joining the board as sales and marketing director. Mr Halford added: "We have some ambitious plans and feel confident that Julian and Gary will drive these forward to ensure we achieve our desired goals. Silver Spring is a business with huge potential and I am positive that we now have in place a team that can work with us to create a business that we can all be proud of."

Mr Cotton was unavailable for comment. However, it is understood that he is taking legal advice about his situation. After the latest round of layoffs, Silver Spring employs around 200 people.