The long summer holidays present plenty of opportunities for parents to spend money on entertaining their offspring. Plenty of people think: "I could do this better and save myself a fortune." But very few channel their frustration into creating a new business.

Taking four children to a playcentre was an eye-opener for the Hayes family. Mum Anni Hayes said: "The standard was just dreadful - there's no excuse for unclean toilets and lukewarm coffee. We were sick of going to places that just assumed you were there because there was no alternative.

"So, we decided we were not going to pay money to them any more - we could do better ourselves. It gnawed away at us until it developed into a major project."

At the time, Mrs Hayes's four children were aged between two and 15, and she found that places which pleased the younger one would not allow children over 12, while places that were suitable for the older teenagers would not admit toddlers.

As well as looking after the children, she and her husband Derek, plus business partner John Gardner, had been running Eynsham-based firework display company Skyline Productions for more than 20 years.

Undaunted by the new challenge, they spent four years researching the market, talking to parents and children, asking them what they liked and didn't like, before setting up their own children's entertainment centre, Jumparound, in a former pine shop warehouse in Station Lane, Witney.

Mr Gardner's brother has special needs, so they were keen to include equipment that would entertain children of all abilities.

Mrs Hayes said: "We visited lots of special schools and talked to them. We discovered there was no provision for special needs children, and we felt they should be included in the family group. We don't just cater for one age group.

"The equipment has been designed and built with easy access - all the entrances are wider than normal - and the equipment can be used by adult carers. We want to encourage adults and carers to interact with their children.

"If they don't want to join in, the adults can have a nice cup of coffee, but they can see that their children are in safe hands."

Leader of the Tory party, David Cameron (pictured above) - whose son Ivan has cerebral palsy - was at the official opening earlier this summer.

The Jumparound restaurant is another departure from normal play centre provision, since there are no fizzy drinks on sale, and no fried food is served.

Mrs Hayes added: "We are very insistent that we use homemade locally-sourced food, with real coffee and real tea. Everything is additive-free and nut-free."

The Hayes children were taken to every children's entertainment centre within a 60-mile radius of Witney, and asked for their views.

"They all had good and bad bits," said Mrs Hayes. "And the children were really good critics."

Jumparound employs 20 people, including part-timers, ranging in age from 18 to mid-50s, who help children to enjoy the Hidey Hole and Biff-baff tubes and direct the Little Tykes cars through the car-wash area.

Attractions for older children include the Catcher's Net, where the final challenge involves hanging upside-down, and the Astra slide and rapid-fire cannons.

A multi-sports court has proved popular with fathers, while bookings for birthday parties boomed as parents rushed to get invitations out before schools broke up for the summer holidays.

Three weeks after opening, Jumparound's founders are already planning a new chill-out' area on a mezzanine floor, and bringing in new play equipment.

Mrs Hayes said: "We want to develop it to keep the variety and interest. The equipment is all interactive, and they have to do a bit of thinking to work out how to get from A to B, rather than rushing around at 90 miles an hour and exhausting themselves."

Contact: www.jumparound.co.uk