FEARS that the number of people using Minehead's Aquasplash leisure centre had dropped dramatically were allayed this week. Concern was raised after West Somerset District Council's performance committee was given figures last month showing 63,000 fewer people had used the facility in 2004-05 than in previous years. But Aquasplash manager Janice Malarkey told councillors at their meeting on Monday that the figures published were incorrect and the problem lay with a new computer system for performance management. Mrs Malarkey said, when she was formulating the user numbers, she had inadvertently cancelled out around three-quarters of them and had not picked up on her mistake. In fact the true figures show an increase in numbers, with an "over-achievement" on the targets set. The number of users between 7am and 9am had previously been given as 1,797 but the actual number was 8,067, against a target of 5,000. Between 9am and 4pm, councillors had been told just 17,685 people had used Aquasplash, compared to the reality of 63,267 - considerably higher than the 50,000 target. And instead of the 8,026 people believed to have used the facility after 4pm, a staggering 40,437 actually did so, just slightly above the 40,000 target. Performance committee chairman Cllr Simon Stokes said the true numbers and the increases were encouraging, and the fact that the committee had spotted the discrepancy in the figures showed its members were awake. "It is gratifying to see that Aquasplash, despite the fact that it is looking a little tired, is still being used by the public." Cllr Terry Venner, the council's leisure portfolio holder with responsibility for Aquasplash, apologised for the error and said it was the second time within three months that incorrect information had been given. "I have asked that in future any information relating to Aquasplash must be checked. "Quite clearly, Aquasplash is doing well in some sections."