FAMILIES on a Willington estate have organised a petition against the closure of a popular playground.

More than 200 signatures have been collected in less than a week by protestors angry that the Armoury Field play area has been identified for possible closure.

Wear Valley District Council has said it can no longer afford to inspect and maintain its 55 playgrounds to revised British Standards requirements.

As a result, the authority is reducing the number of playgrounds it runs to 26 and Armoury Field is one which looks likely to be closed.

Mother-of-three Anne Anderson presented the petition to North West Durham MP Hilary Armstrong on Saturday.

Mrs Anderson, a school crossing warden, said the playground, near Watling Terrace, had been left to the children of Willington by housing developer Peter Armoury.

She said: "It is a lovely playground. It is small and friendly with a big playing field and I'm absolutely livid that it is going.

"I'm gutted because my children can go over and play there safely. It is not on a main road and we all look out for each others' children."

Mrs Anderson said she believed plans for a town superpark on Willington High Street would not be an adequate replacement for the Armoury Field site.

She said: "I couldn't let my ten-year-old go and play down there on a night, it is just not safe enough. There is a main road there and I just don't want my children down Willington main street by themselves on a night.

"Armoury Field was left to the people. It is a proper community play area and everybody loves it."

Ms Armstrong, who also held a weekend constituency surgery in nearby Crook, said: "There are moves in Willington to form a new town council and the provision of play areas may well be a responsibility they would take on.

"I will be writing to the council to see if there is a way of keeping the park open until a town council can be set up."

Residents have organised a public meeting to discuss all of the issues. The meeting will be held in The Burn pub tonight, at 7pm.