PRIMARY school pupils are now £2,000 closer to the dream of a new playground.

Cestria Primary School, in Church Chare, Chester-le-Street, needs to raise around £25,000 for the project to build a new play area.

Landlady Irene Boyers, who runs the town's Black Horse and Market Tavern pubs, has enlisted her regulars to help the fund-raising drive and managed to raise £2,000 which was handed over to the school.

Big-hearted pubgoers raised the cash after 12-hour sponsored pool and dance marathons, a scooter riding event, and a sponsored silence on a Friday night.

Mrs Boyers, who has a grandson at the school, said the school had an old-fashioned playground and wanted to create an area with play equipment and a nature section which pupils had helped design.

The £2,000 cheque, added to £4,000 already raised by the parent teacher association, edges the school closer to the grand total.