REDDITCH children and their parents will benefit to the tune of £10,000 over the next three years thanks to a nationwide initiative by Pearl.

Funzone, based at Walkwood Middle School, will now be able to employ an additional play-worker to take care of even more Redditch children.

Pearl, the life and pensions arm of Australian financial service company AMP, is supporting Funzone as part of its £2 million investment in a nationwide initiative to provide more than 7,000 children per week with a safe place to go out of school hours.

Club manager, Mandy Lawler, said: "Pearl's support will make a real difference to us.

"The club is a vital part of the community and this additional funding means we can offer more support to families in the area."

Pearl's branch manager covering the Redditch area, Ian Knight, said: "Our home service approach gives us a good insight into issues that are important to Redditch people.

"I know from my own home visits in the area that balancing work and childcare is a big challenge here, that is why we've decided to support Funzone.