A FOREST adventure school that hit the headlines after a ‘freak accident’ left a boy with a broken pelvis and femur has now closed down.

Muddy Hands Forest School, on Chester Road, shut its doors just over three weeks after the incident, when a tree branch fell on children at a party.

The company has promised to honour any bookings when it opens a new adventure centre under different branding in Stretton next month.

Owner Jamie Dolphin said: “We have closed the site in Walton where the accident took place.

“All the staff were let go, we had two full time staff who have lost their jobs due to the amount of money we lost. 

“We lost thousands in cancelled bookings, close to £6,000.”

The accident took place on Sunday, July 3, when a party of 15 youngsters from Oxton in the Wirral were using the muddy slide at around 4pm heard a cracking sound.

A large branch fell on the party, trapping 10-year-old Noah Wood who was later airlifted to Alder Hey hospital for emergency surgery.

The boy’s 20-year-old brother Thomas Wood suffered a punctured lung and broken ribs, while two other children were taken to Warrington Hospital with less serious injuries.

A spokesman from Warrington Borough Council said they are still investigating the accident despite the closure of Muddy Hands.

Some customers are worried about their bookings and one said she turned up with 10 children for a party at the centre only to find it had shut and there was nobody around.

More than 50 people purchased a kids forest party with food deal at Muddy Hands from Groupon but Jamie said Groupon should have notified people as he does not receive all the contact details.

He said: “There were a huge amount of people wanting us to stay open, we had 200 comments on Facebook. 

“But we just can’t keep it open on that site.

“It was absolutely booming before, lots of people loved coming here and it got lots of kids outside.

“It’s been an absolutely awful time for us after this freak accident.”

The new centre is expected to focus on providing laser quest parties.