SUMMER officially started in Witney when hundreds of children visited the newly-opened splash park for the first day of the school holidays.

Where a 40-year-old dilapidated paddling pool once stood there is now a £250,000 park complete with jets, pools, slides, climbing towers and tepees.

Four years ago, parents who wanted to see their children play at a new park at The Leys responded to a town council consultation on what the old pool should become.

They raised £20,000 through a series of fundraising events including raffles, auctions and fun days.

Witney Town Council contributed £70,000 and obtained grants of £45,000 from West Oxfordshire District Council and £75,000 from Waste Recycing Environmental Ltd (WREN).

Berit Holsen and daughter Sofia, four, of Witney, said: “The water park was certainly worth waiting for because it made a really fun day out for me and my daughter.”

Claire Swan, the facilities manager for Witney Town Council and project manager for the Water Park, said: “It was fantastic to welcome so many people down to The Leys and to see that all of our hard work has paid off.”

Harry Eaglestone, mayor at the time the project started and chairman of the Splash Park Working Group, said: “It was a vision that we wanted and it has come to fruition. We’re over the moon.”

Former Witney town councillor Chrissie Curry was heavily involved in the project as chairwoman of Witney town council’s amenities committee until her death from cancer earlier this year.