The boss of a water park plagued by mystery sickness says about 20 visitors have now fallen ill.

Wayne Cooper, director of Whitemills Wake Water and Aqua Park in Sandwich, says people have either told of themselves or their children being unwell.

The park had to shut yesterday after illnesses, with symptoms such as vomiting, were reported.

Mr Cooper says the site remained shut today and would not reopen until the results of new water samples came back.

He told KentOnline: "This is all a mystery to us. We don't know what has caused it. We had water samples two weeks ago and they were clear."

He said during this week about 20 people had reported sickness, either for themselves and their children, to the centre.

But he added: "There were symptoms such as vomiting but these were out of about 2,000 visitors to the centre over that week.

'I don't know what's behind this...'

"But we are on an open-water lake, not a chlorinated swimming pool.

"I don't know what's behind this."

The company had yesterday said it was working closely with Dover District Council and public protection officials to discover the cause of the problem.

Those who had booked to go to the water park are being contacted by the company and provided with a voucher to use another time.

The alarm was raised yesterday after some people reported they had been ill after visiting.

Some said they have experienced temperatures and vomiting.

One person posted on Facebook: "All people in our party – three separate families – have been very sick within 48 hours of using the lake Tuesday of this week."

Others said that they had been to the centre this week and they and their families remained well.

The Whitemill Water and Aqua Park in Sandwich opened on July 9.

The park has inflatable climbing frames and slides in the centre of a lake which visitors can explore as well as a range of activities such as open water swimming and stand-up paddle boarding with special sessions such as ladies' mornings and a kids' club.

The centre is on the corner of Ash Road and the A256 Sandwich Bypass, and also has a lakeside restaurant.