AN OVERGROWN wilderness has been transformed to offer young families a green haven.

It has taken two years of hard work by a partnership formed between Durham County Council's Auckland Gate Centre, SureStart Wear Valley and the Countryside Agency's Greenstart programme, to create the Tindale Crescent Community Garden, in Bishop Auckland.

Fathers and male carers at SureStart, and members of the Auckland Gate Centre, pooled their gardening expertise to create a place for children to play and for parents and other members of the community to relax.

Tyne Tees Television weatherman Bob Johnson joined the volunteers to celebrate the garden's completion and declare it open for public use.

The region may have suffered flooding because of torrential overnight rain, but the water provided another attraction for youngsters as they enjoyed playing in the mud with rubber ducks.

Mr Johnson said: "It is always nice to get out to see these community projects. I used to help my dad when he used to grow all his own vegetables in the garden, and I can see that the children are really enjoying themselves today. This is a great project and I wish everybody every success with it in the future.''

It was a challenge that saw the overgrown allotments at Tindale Crescent transformed into herb and vegetable gardens, with a story corner for children.

Tasks involved preparing the land, making the children's fun area attractive and general maintenance.

Harvey Jane, a volunteer with the Dads and Male Carers Group, said the project had been hard work.

He said: "There are times when I just wanted to walk away, but seeing the children enjoying themselves today has made it all worthwhile.

"We still have a lot of work to do, so anybody in the community who would like to come along and help us at any time would be most welcome."