FUN-LOVING youngsters will find they have never had it so good when they visit Bromsgrove's Sanders Park.

The children's play area has been extended and refurbished with a £130,000 cash injection to make it a bigger and better playground than ever before - and the largest in the district.

Council chairman, Councillor Jill Dyer, said: "It is fantastic. The whole area has been given a facelift and brought up to date with lots of new facilities for all ages. There is a much wider range of equipment catering for a broader range of customers - from tots to teenagers."

The new-look recreation rendezvous, which was funded through a Government Liveability Grant, now offers a host of traditional and up-to-the-minute play facilities, including water features aptly called Cascade and the Mermaid's Fountain, a giant swing and spinning net, a multi-seesaw, tug boat and a large adventurous climbing frame.

There are cradle swings for the very young, and all kinds of roundabouts to suit all ages and other exciting devices like the Puppet and the Pulsar.

A new soft spongy flooring has been inlaid with Royal Hunters Walk motifs (the walk starts in Sanders Park near to the play area) and there is also a kick-around zone which was designed by Grace O'Connell, aged 12, and Emma Bourne, 13 - who are both pupils at Bromsgrove's St John's Middle School.

Cllr Dyer was joined by Grace and Emma when they put the finishing touches to the playground with their paint brushes last Thursday in preparation for the official opening ceremony, which the chairman will perform at 3pm this Friday.