A CAMPAIGN to build a play area for youngsters in a former pit village is just about complete.

A see-saw is the last piece of equipment to be installed by the Coxhoe Community Partnership, next to Coxhoe Leisure Centre.

The project, Coxhoe Kids Zone, was launched in 1998, by parents concerned there was nothing for children after the city council removed old play equipment on the site.

The council said it could not afford to buy replacement equipment so the parents launched their own campaign to raise money to make a safe area for their children.

They netted more than £242,000, including £92,650 from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust Partnership and £78,000 from the National Lottery, and have created a play area that is popular with youngsters from toddlers to teenagers.

Facilities include an aerial runway, football goals, picnic area and basketball court.

The group has also been given £1,232 from the National Lottery Awards For All fund to stage a special day for youngsters celebrating the project's completion.

The Grand Finale Event was to have been held today but has been postponed until Sunday, September 2, because of the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Partnership secretary Barbara Hepplewhite said: "We are right next to a field where animals walk by. We are too close.''

The partnership is holding its annual meeting on Wednesday, at 7.30pm, in Coxhoe Leisure Centre.

Membership is open to anyone who lives in the village.

Mrs Hepplewhite said: "We will be discussing two new projects we are thinking of starting.

"We are looking at printing a leaflet on a guided walk around Coxhoe and publishing a quarterly newsletter for the village.

"The group invites anyone interested in helping with these projects to join us.

"We are open to other ideas for future projects."