A NEW play area funded with help from the Oxford Mail has already made a 'massive difference' to youngsters in Wolvercote.

Children at St Peter's Playgroup have seen their 'mud swamp' play area closed for the past two winters due to rain.

But the completion of their £4,300 artificial grass patch will make sure the two to five-year-olds will still be able to balance work and play in the coming months.

The Oxford Mail's parent company Gannett Media – through its Gannett Foundation charitable arm – gave the charity the grant earlier this year and after delays in getting approval from the Diocese of Oxford, which owns the site – it was finally opened last month.

Committee member, Megan Carberry, said: "We have had lots of feedback from parents and children saying the difference is absolutely massive – at this time of year they normally wouldn't have been able to play outside as it wasn't safe.

"The new grass has been in place for a few weeks now and it's been great."

The mother-of-one, whose five-year-old son used to go to the playgroup, said it would benefit youngsters in the village for years to come.

"My son Adam used to go to the group and I was regularly pulling him out of the mud.

"So it's great to see the new play area and know that it will be there for the next groups of children using the playgroup."

As the grass was on the north side of St Peter’s Church, it remained in shadow most of the day, which prevented it drying properly.

Mrs Carberry added that for the past two winters access had been shut off completely for weeks at a time because the children were ‘slipping and hurting themselves’.

The committee applied in last year's Gannett Foundation funding round and was one of five charities in Oxfordshire given £30,000 to fund everything from outings for young carers to the creation of a cyber cafe.

The playgroup is run by a small committee of volunteers and receives small annual grants to cover things like rent.

It is also given Government and local authority funding for its two and three-year-olds and some parents pay to send their children there.

Mrs Carberry said: "The Gannett Foundation money paid for the entire project and we are so grateful - we are a very small group so it was a huge amount for us.

"Our group is at the heart of the village but children from all over the city use it and will now benefit from the new turf."

The Gannett Foundation gives out grants every year to worthy community causes in Oxfordshire.

The next round will open in September 2018.