THE patter of tiny feet filled the Dovecote Centre in Blackbird Leys yesterday as a new pre-school was launched.

Little Doves drew in more than 50 mums from the busy estate as their children got a taste of what they could soon enjoy.

When it formally opens on January 7, the Nightingale Avenue pre-school will be only the second in Blackbird Leys.

Mum-of-two Clare Burroughs said she had struggled for months to get her sons Theo, one, and Aiden, three into a nursery. She said: “If it’s used properly it will become a wonderful place for the community. I thought it was brilliant, and really badly needed here.”

The Dovecote’s Voluntary Parent Committee children and family services manager Carol Richards said she formed a committee in response to a growing demand in the estate.

She said: “The estate had expanded so much, but there was just not enough provision for pre-school.”