A GARDEN and nature trail has been opened at Dodmire Infant School, in Darlington.

Doddy's Secret Garden and Toadstool Park, named after the school's globe-trotting teddy bear mascot, was opened by Darlington Borough Council's deputy director of education, David Walker.

The garden was to have been opened by head of the Office for Standards in Education David Bell, but his train was derailed at London's Kings Cross Station on Tuesday and he was unable to attend.

The venture was funded by the Lascelles Park Community Partnership, through a grant from regional development agency One NorthEast.

Dodmire headteacher Maureen Dixon said: "It is to encourage parents to come into school and do basic skills with their children."