A bug in the water has closed a popular children's water feature in Newport's Tredegar Park.

Newport City Council confirmed yesterday (Wednesday) that the water play area has been closed until further notice, after the council's own teams found something amiss in one of their regular tests of the water.

They could not say exactly what the bug was but said they have sent off their samples to a laboratory for further tests and analysis.

It's the second scare involving water quality for the authority in the past 12 months, after the Newport Centre swimming pool was closed for more than a month following an outbreak of Cryptosporidiosis in September last year.

However the council was quick to stress that Cryptosporidiosis was not the bug found at Tredegar Park.

The popular play area only re-opened again on July 12 after being closed the previous week because of what the council said was a mechanical fault.

The closure will be a blow to youngsters across the city who in the recent hot weather have finally had the perfect opportunity to use it.

A council spokeswoman said: "Newport City Council has closed the water play area in Tredegar Park as a precautionary measure.

"Regular monitoring of the water takes place and has revealed the possibility of a minor bug. Action is being taken to prevent any risk to public safety, however small.

"The council regrets any inconvenience caused by the closure but the health and safety of residents, especially children, is of paramount concern.

"While the feature is closed, the system will continue to be cleansed and chlorinated and it is hoped to re-open the area within a couple of weeks.

"All other play facilities in Tredegar Park are open as normal. There are also many fun activities taking place at pools across the city this summer - visit www.newport.gov.uk/summerfun for more information."

Public Health Wales said it had not been notified about the discovery of the bug.