PARENTS flocked to the launch of a new children's centre more than 18 months after Witney's last one shut its doors.

Children & Families First, run by national family support charity Home Start, welcomed 65 parents and young children to its first session at Witney's High Street Methodist Church.

The centre caters for children up to age five and fills a significant gap in services, following the closure of the town's last children’s centre in March last year.

Earlier this year, Home Start joined forces with a group of residents to secure funding for the initiative and ensure parents with young children receive vital support.

The first session on October 31 saw the service return to the Methodist Church, to the delight of county councillor and residents' group member Laura Price.

She said: "It's almost emotional being back in that room, seeing it used in that way.

"It gives parents the opportunity to be with another group of very recent parents to talk about their birth experiences, which is hugely important.

"You need to have someone with experience who knows how to make everyone feel safe and comfortable and Home-Start offers that."

Action for Children ran the town’s previous children’s centre, but this closed when the charity’s contract ran out last March.

The residents' group partnered with Witney youth charity Base 33 and initially received the £30,000 Oxfordshire County Council transition fund to continue services last summer.

But after Base 33 was declared insolvent 12 months ago, the group linked up with Home Start and a new transition fund was approved in May.

Stay and play sessions take place every Wednesday between 9.30am and 11am, but the opening day showed there was demand for more.

Three baby massage sessions this month are already fully booked and Ms Price revealed the centre is aiming to run more than one open session every week.

The county councillor for Witney South & Central said: "Being community-led means asking people what would benefit them.

"We want to get back to that point where we're offering that full spread of support during that special point in people's lives."

Home-Start's Witney co-ordinator Lisa West leads activities at the centre, but the organisation is reliant on volunteers.

The transition fund is secure for the next two years but funding for a further 12 months is not confirmed, while parent donations for healthy snacks and consumables provide a welcome boost.

Karen Porter, senior co-ordinator at Home Start Oxford, appealed for volunteers in West Oxfordshire to help out and admitted more funding was needed.

She said: "It was fantastic but we were very conscious of space and the number of people.

"If we had the money we could probably run something every day and people would still come."