A CHILDREN'S playground which was gifted to young people has been given a £100,000 refurbishment.

Fishburn Memorial Children's Playing Field was donated to the young people of the village after the Second World War by businessman, Arthur Santi.

Over time, swings on the field were vandalised and became dated, so members of the community set about raising money for the project.

The Fishburn May Day Group started the process in the late Nineties, but since then a trust has formed to help make the refurbishment a reality.

Richard Wanless, chairman of the May Day Group, said: "One of the main things that helped us attract the funding was getting the children to make a DVD, called The Day After Yesterday, which really showed how much they wanted the facilities.

"Young people have been involved all the way through the project, through the primary school and the youth club.

"The May Day Group has been raising money throughout, but to attract the kind of money we needed, we had to do something special."

The DVD, produced by Capture Films, features Fishburn youngsters and was shown at the weekend when the park was officially opened.

It helped source funding from several different organisations including Sedgefield Borough Council's Local Improvement Programme and the Coal Field Regeneration Trust.

David Garfield, 11, who plays a broadcast journalist in the DVD, said: "We came up with the idea of a news programme and we interviewed children to get their views on the play facilities in the village and what they would like to see in a new play ground.

"Part of the film involved us visiting other new playgrounds in the area and we decided which equipment we liked."

Following their efforts, the playground has been updated to feature modern equipment and a specialist safety floor.

Mr Santi, who died about 25 years ago, aged 81, ran an ice cream shop in Fishburn, where he settled after moving from Italy.

He donated the park as a playing field and war memorial.

His daughter, Eva Santi Agostini, said: "He would have loved to have seen what they have done with it and he would have been very pleased."