THE future of a play and education centre on Teesside has been secured thanks to a grant of almost £140,000.

The Northumbrian Water Environmental Trust (NWET) has announced the top up grant for Percy, the Teesside Play and Education Resource Centre for the next three years.

The centre is a registered charity, which collects reusable waste materials from industry for use in children's creative and educational activities.

Percy maintains a treasure trove of scrap at its Middlesbrough warehouse for groups to use. It also organises children's workshops and training for adults in creative play, providing inspiration and practical examples of re-use.

Material once designated for landfill sites is given a new lease of life and transformed into items such as jewellery, mosaic mirrors, lanterns and puppets.

This year alone, more than 4,000 children have enjoyed Percy workshops and have had the opportunity to develop their skills.

Dr Joanna Martin, chairman of Nwet, said: "Percy has been one of our pet projects for the last three years.

"We have seen it grow from a very small unit to a service providing resources and training for over 1,600 groups throughout Tees Valley, North Yorkshire and County Durham. Our renewed commitment will enable it to carry on the good work for another three years."