Wales’ largest theme park has announced it will shut down with immediate effect after almost 40 years.

Oakwood Theme Park in Pembrokeshire almost closed in 2008 but a £25m investment rescued the park, which employed up to 200 people, according to its LinkedIn profile.

However, due to a drop in visitor numbers, the owners Aspro Park said “future investment is unsustainable” and it would not be opening for the 2025 season.

The company added: “All possible avenues have been explored to avoid the closure, and we fully recognise the impact of the closure on the local community and the loss that will be felt as a result.”

The park added that “unrelenting economic challenges” from electricity costs, ride parts and food and drink inflation, as well as changes to national insurance thresholds affected the decision.

Aspro Parks said this was the first time it had closed a park or attraction in its “entire history”.

“Unfortunately, we could no longer see a sustainable way forward and will seek to improve our other parks using the assets and where possible team elsewhere.”

It added that it felt “sadness” for the loss of “a rite of passage for many young visitors”.

The theme park made headlines across the UK in 2004 when Hayley Williams, 16, died after falling 100ft (30m) from the top of the Hydro rollercoaster.

An inquest into her death in 2006 heard a safety bar designed to restrain passengers as the ride plummeted down a near-vertical chute at 50mph had not been lowered before it started.

But an unlawful killing verdict was ruled out by a coroner who said there was no evidence of gross negligence by anyone involved.

But two years later Oakwood Leisure, which ran the park at the time of the accident, was fined £250,000 after admitting staff had failed to ensure passengers were safely restrained on the high-speed ride.