A Darlington mum has launched the town's first party company dedicated to children.

Wildchilds is the brainchild of Hilary Dunne. She created the business after years of searching for imaginative parties for her own children.

The company was launched at a Hallowe'en party for 75 local children, where a haunted ghost tunnel and a lively gorilla were part of the entertainment.

Mrs Dunne said: "I wanted to develop parties that firstly put the birthday child at the very heart of it and secondly fed the child's imagination with fun and creativity - we bring an element of theatre into each party.

"I wanted to re-create the traditional role-play games that filled my childhood. In today's world, there's little time for imagination as it's all done for us."

Wildchilds has a wide range of parties to suit all tastes and they come with a theatrical backdrop to set the scene and plenty of props and costumes to keep everybody amused.

The themes include a builder's yard; 999, the emergency service; a sparkling fairyland; star for a day; the Wild West and a wizards' school.

Wildchilds has also created "parties in a box" for busy parents and these include invitations, traditional game ideas, presents, decorations and party bags, all labelled and delivered directly to the party-giver's door.

To complement the activity parties, Mrs Dunne has also developed a range of creative parties, such as little cooks; mini makeovers, where hair styles and makeovers are organised just like celebrities, and busy fingers, with tub-loads of glitter and crafty bits and plenty of glue to create take-home works of art.

Mrs Dunne said all the parties offered excitement, with lots of hands-on fun for everyone.

Special themed parties for large groups have also created a good deal of interest from businesses and schools, with the children's fancy dress costume hire proving particularly popular.

Wildchilds is already taking inquiries for Christmas parties and has just confirmed a party for a local employer's children where a winter wonderland is being created, although Mrs Dunne is keeping the exact content of the party under wraps. All she will say is that it will definitely snow in Darlington on that day.

For more information on Wildchilds parties call 01325 365292.