A NEW playpark in Staindrop has proved a huge hit after it officially opened on Saturday.

About 70 people, including villagers, fundraisers and parish councillors, attended the special event at Staindrop Play Area which has now completed its second phase of work following the opening of the first phase for children aged up to six, in 2015.

Villagers and parents, Amanda Astrop and Emma Curran, raised £60,000 as part of the Staindrop Playground Committee to provide the facility at the back of Scarth Hall.

And youngsters gave the new play equipment, including a play tower, slide and climbing frame, a big thumbs up as Mrs Astrop’s daughter, Poppy, seven and Mrs Curran’s son, Tom, eight, cut the ribbon.

David Reed, chairman of Staindrop Parish Council, also gave a speech thanking the duo as well as funders including Durham County Councillors, George Richardson and James Rowlandson, who donated £15,000 from their Neighbourhood Projects.

Funding also came from Tesco, Durham Community Foundation, the Sir James Knott Trust and the Parish Council itself and a plaque is set to be erected listing all the donors.

Mr Reed said: “Amanda and Emma have worked tirelessly to raise funds and develop a design for the wonderful equipment you see today.

“We hope this will be a resource for local children for years to come.

“Many thanks to Amanda and Emma for all of their hard work.”

Mrs Astrop, thanked everyone involved. particularly Maggie Wilson, at the Teesdale Area Action Partnership.

She said: “We wanted to create a park for children of all ages in the village and their families to enjoy and we are absolutely thrilled that we have been able to achieve that.”

“It’s been wonderful in recent days to see the reactions of children as they see the new play equipment for the very first time.

“To hear the ‘wow’s’ and the ‘that’s so cool’ has been really fantastic and has made all of our hard work really worth it.

“We are so looking forward to seeing it full of children and families enjoying themselves and hope it will bring pleasure for years to come. It is your park now. Use it. Enjoy it and let’s all help to look after it.”