YOUNGSTERS returned from their Easter holidays to find new play equipment had been installed at their primary school.

The infant playground at Langley Moor Primary has been given a £15,000 makeover in an effort to incorporate more play which involves risk taking.

After researching the impact the new equipment would have on the children, year one teacher Clare Brewis and the school business manager put together a bid for money from the Big Lottery Fund's Awards for All grants programme.

The bid secured £10,000 and the work was carried out over the Easter break by Tyneside company Infinite Playgrounds.

The redeveloped play area now includes a wooden den, a pebble play area, water play, and some dinosaur skeletons hidden underneath the yard, which came as a great surprise to the pupils when they gave the equipment its first test run yesterday (Monday, April 13).

A mud kitchen to enhance imaginative play has also been installed.

Miss Brewis said everyone was looking forward to seeing the children making full use of the new playground.

"As a school we are thrilled with the finish of the new equipment and can't wait for the children to explore it," she said.

"It is going to make playtime a very exciting time in school."