A soft play centre will create 30 jobs when it opens in the region tomorrow, after receiving a £70,000 investment from a fund management firm.

Finance company NEL's debit division, Evolve Finance, has invested the cash in County Durham company Northern Play, which is creating Play Shack - a children's soft play warehouse - in Shildon, near Bishop Auckland, that can cater for 120 children.

Its completion is the realisation of a dream for company directors Christine Blundell and Jayne Hemming.

After being made redundant last year, they decided to work together to open the soft play warehouse.

Project manager Simon Blundell, Christine's husband, said of the scheme: "It's taken a year's worth of effort to get to where we are now, but with the support of Evolve Finance and an awful lot of hard work, we're all ready to go.

"We've tailored the facilities we're offering to meet what we know are the needs of local children and groups, and believe we have both the attractions and the expertise to make this venture a real success."

He added: "We encountered various problems when we first started looking for potential backers, especially around them understanding the potential of this business idea in what is a booming sector.

"But as soon as we talked to NEL, we felt they understood what we wanted to do."

Joanne Pratt, of Evolve Finance, said: "Anyone with children knows how popular soft play centres have become in recent years, and we're very confident that Play Shack will be a great success."

For more information on NEL's investment criteria, call 0191-442 4300 or visit www.nel.co.uk