A TINY village is to have a children's playground for the first time in 60 years, after securing a Government grant.

The last set of swings in Stillington village, near Stockton, were erected in the 1950s, but did not survive, leaving children without somewhere to play.

But, after a long struggle to raise enough money, the residents' association has won a grant from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Rural Enterprise Scheme worth £57,240.

Work has started on a play area which will have swings, an adventure trail for toddlers, toddler springers, a junior multi-activity frame, and a challenging activity net.

Some of the grant will also go towards upgrading the football pitch.

Chairwoman of the residents' association, Judith Turner, said: "The last generation of youngsters in Stillington missed out on playground facilities.

"Swings were built in the early Fifties, but became defunct.

"We are quite an isolated village, far away from Stockton, Darlington and Newton Aycliffe, and as a residents' association we felt it was essential that our young people had an outlet for their energies and to play safely."

The population of Stillington grew from the iron industry, which developed around the Tees Valley between the 1850s and 1920s.

The houses in the village were built by Carlton Iron Works, for their workers, and in the 1940s, British Steel sold the houses to the tenants.

The village has a population of about 1,400, a fifth of them under 16.

Mrs Turner said: "We really felt that the village lacked facilities for our young people, and we held extensive public meetings with adults, primary school children and teenagers to find out what they wanted. We also got our children at William Cassidi School to do a project on what equipment they wanted in the village."

Andy Whitehead, an advisor for the Rural Development Service in the North-East, said: "Supporting projects of this type helps maintain rural communities.

"The residents' association has produced a project that will allow their young people, and future generations, to have access to play facilities in the village."