Parents had as much fun as their children at a special funday today.

Scores of mums and dads joined in events designed for children as their inner kid came out at the Oxfordshire Play Day in Blackbird Leys, Oxford.

Some parents even donned special inflatable sumo suits for a grapple on the grass at the day-long event outside Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre.

Mother-of-three Sharon Smith, from Nightingale Avenue, Greater Leys, said: "It is a good excuse to be a kid again.

"You have got to join in.

"Whenever you have anything like this the whole community turns out and gets involved."

Lorrain Lally, also from Nightingale Avenue, took her two children and said: "I have just been playing giant fussball. I was the goalie. You need to get involved in big kids' stuff.

"There is not enough going on for kids on a regular basis - more stuff like this would be nice."

Children at the event got to sample an inflatable surfing simulator, bungee run, jungle run assault course and a horseracing game where they had to gallop on blow-up animals.

Braver souls tried their hand at quad biking and a Gladiators-style pugilist ring where they had to knock their opponent off of an inflatable pedestal.

Daniel Potter, six, from Warburg Crescent, Blackbird Leys, said: "I liked the horses and I won at Gladiators. I was trying to help my sister on the bouncy castle."

His grandmother Susan Potter said: "They love it - they do not want to go home."

The Oxfordshire Play Day is an annual celebration of children's rights to play in safety.

The event was expected to attract up to 1,000 people, but only managed about 100.

Organiser Joey Phillips said: "It is not quite as normal because we moved it from the start of August to August 29.

"Normally we would have had the support of all the summer playschemes but there are only a few that are still running."

The event was postponed due to fears of bad weather following floods in July - and had been cancelled in 2006.

A live animal show was also cancelled because of the recent foot and mouth scare.

Mr Phillips, a play support officer for Oxford City Council, said: "The event reached its climax in 2005 and now we have just got to build it back up again.

"You have got parents buying school uniforms, so money is not in abundance - so it is nice to have an event like this that they can partake in for free."

Ms Potter said: "I have been here for six months and this is the first thing I have seen during the summer that is for free."