Things to do in Portsmouth: Mountbatten Centre has launched their new inflatable aqua course, AquaDash! - and everyone is loving it

The new course, which has been titled Aquadash! following a naming competition, opened this morning and the response has been phenomenal with people flocking to the centre to get a glimpse at the aqua park.

Mountbatten Centre, Hilsea, announced the new attraction at the end of last month and customers have been eagerly waiting for the open day.

AquaDash! is a 25-metre double run and it has daring features including the hump, demolition ball, basher wall, mangle and the lighthouse.

Families came to the centre this morning to attend the first session of the inflatable course and every space for today is fully booked.

Maria Brewer bought her two daughters, aged 9 and 12, along with their two friends as a treat before they go back to school tomorrow. She said: ‘It is the last day before they go back to school and we have just come back from a holiday in Egypt and they were loving the swimming so I thought I would book this as something fun before they go back.

‘I managed to get the last four tickets.’

SEE ALSO: Things to do in Portsmouth: 13 best places to visit with children when its raining in and around the city

Everyone was having a brilliant time and the water course was not just being attempted by the youngsters, but also by the adults who wanted to take on some of the challenge.

Carol Dickenson was sat in the viewing area whilst her 13-year-old, Zac, enjoyed his hour of climbing the obstacle course and she said that it is a brilliant addition to the centre.

She said: ‘He has been coming here since he was a baby to do his swimming lessons and he saw it advertised on their Facebook page so we booked it because he is always here – it is like a second home.

‘It is really good, it is about time that something was done for the kids.’

Kerri Thomas surprised her three children this morning after she booked tickets for them to have a go on the AquaDash!

She saw the announcement on Facebook and managed to get three tickets before they quickly sold out.

She said: ‘They were chuffed to bits.’

To book a session, visit the Mounbatten Leisure Centre website by clicking the link.