A DARLINGTON nursery centre relaunched a library with a difference yesterday after inviting parents and children to test drive their toys.

The Corporation Road Nursery Centre toy library allows the children to play with all the toys before deciding which ones they would like to borrow.

This year, the nursery is looking at a changed focus in the form of regular Friday play sessions.

Parents and children will be encouraged to stop and play with the toys, rather than just making a choice and returning home.

The free service is to run through to next summer and allows children access to all kinds of high quality toys that can be kept for up to a fortnight. The steady flow of potential tiny toy borrowers had fun and games at yesterday's "play day" enjoying a colouring competition, face painting and a prize draw raffle.

One hundred and seventy-two children up to the age of four, benefit from the nursery centre's facilities and sharing a site with the infant school makes the transition into full time education far less traumatic.

Headteacher Carol Dawson said: "The toy library offers parents the ideal place to help their children to learn through play and the fact that these toys can be borrowed, free of charge, is an opportunity for children to play with a greater variety of toys both here and in their own homes."