RESIDENTS launched 1,000 balls into a river at the weekend as part of continuing attempts to raise cash for new play areas.

The north Durham communities which have formed the charity Equal Partnership, representing Esh, Quebec and Langley Park, staged the events on the River Browney in Derwentside, on Saturday.

Ken Bradshaw, community capacity worker for the partnership, said: "We had planned to have a duck race, but couldn't get 1,000 ducks and somebody just so happened to have 1,000 coloured balls. Each ball was painstakingly numbered and sold at £1 each in the community."

The balls were tipped into the river by a JCB from Diggerland by the tourist attraction's general manager, Mark Robson.

The first ball to complete the quarter mile course belonged to Martin Carey, of Esh, who received the £125 first prize.

The charity aims to raise £200,000 to provide an area for toddlers to teenagers, including equipment such as a mini-skate park and a games pitch.

The main area is earmarked for derelict land in Lambton Street, Langley Park, with two smaller sites in Esh and Quebec.

To attract funding, Equal has become a charity and been approved by Government body Entrust to receive grants through the Landfill Tax Credit scheme. The group has also won £4,851 from the National Lottery Awards for All programme.