A £270,000 nursery at a County Durham infant school is getting ready for its official opening next week.

The 26-place Lumley Medway Infant School nursery at Great Lumley, near Chester-le-Street, is part of a project developed by Durham County Council that has also made use of surplus space.

The building includes connected nursery areas, quiet and wet play areas, new kitchen, toilets and laundry room.

Extra play areas have been provided, including a covered soft safety surface with electronically-operated rollershutters and a fenced hard play area. Changes inside the school, using surplus space, have allowed a computer suite to be created and a classroom to be refurbished.

County councillor Brian Walker will open the building next Wednesday.

He said: "The facilities that we have now are of the highest quality and promise to be of significant educational benefit for many years to come.

"The all-through nursery and primary school will be very strongly positioned to deliver the best possible primary education for the future."