A FAMILY theme park in the North-East has expanded, creating four new areas for children.

Adventure Valley, near Durham City, has opened an indoor farmyard, Wild West themed area, a theatre for family shows, and a new reptile enclosure.

The park, at Brasside, opened four years ago, and is designed for young children and their families.

Owner Marco Calzini said: “It all adds up to a significant increase in our indoor facilities and a major investment for us.

“Hopefully, we are now in a better position to offer a complete day out whatever the weather.”

The new Wild West themed indoor soft play area, which opened on Saturday, offers two storeys of fun with scramble nets, slides and interactive games including a giant interactive computer game projected onto the floor.

Visitors were treated to a display of rope spinning, fast drawing, whip cracking skills from North-East cowboy re-enactors Martell´s Raiders, before getting an opportunity to have a go themselves in one of the workshops.

Native American and member of the Eagle Clan of the Hopi tribe Que-Vato-Casio Da was on hand to talk about the lives and customs of his people.

The Showtime Theatre with tiered seating offers an entertaining range of family shows throughout the summer.

The new Indoor Farmyard will provide better viewing for our visitors, more space for the animals and more animal encounter sessions while the reptiles and invertebrates have a new larger room which will make it easier for visitors to view them.

Mr Calzini said: “We have been able to create six new jobs as a result of the expansion, and now employ 12 full-time staff and a further 35 seasonal staff who work our busy weekends and school holiday periods.”