CHILDREN have left their mark on a restored green area by carving their names on a central sculpture.

The youngsters from the Watergate Estate, in Crook, made ceramic leaves and flowers for the feature at a workshop led by Selby artist Ailsa Magnus.

One of them, 13-year-old Craig Gibbon, cut a ribbon to open the new green at Langdale Avenue on Saturday.

The Helmington Row and Wheatbottom Community Action Group led the restoration project, which was funded by a £6,500 gift from the Barclays Bank Sitesavers scheme, and funding from the County Durham Foundation, the European Development Fund and the Single Regeneration Budget.

Local people contributed to the design, in partnership with the environmental group Groundwork West Durham and Wear Valley District Council.

The launch was followed by a summer fair at the group's community house, in Esk Gardens.

Further workshops will follow in the autumn, when the group plans to plant trees and spring bulbs.