HUNDREDS of primary school children kicked off countless hours of sport on a new artificial grass pitch.

Longfield School's new £530,000 third generation pitch was opened yesterday at Darlington's 12th annual football festival.

Darlington FC midfielder Jamie Chandler and former Longfield pupil Adam Jackson, who represented England in the under-17s Uefa Championships, performed the opening ceremony before 250 young players took part in the festival.

The football facilities will also be available to other schools as well as the community. It will mean the school can develop its own football activities, increase participation through its School Sport Partnership programmes, and provide facilities to support the development of local FA Charter Standard clubs, including Darlington 21st Allstars.

The playing fields already attract significant community use and it is now forecast that more than 5,000 people will use the new pitches every week.

Keith Gilbertson, Longfield School assistant headteacher, said: "The feedback from the pupils, both boys and girls, has been fantastic, they can't wait to use the facility either in lessons or at extra-curricular clubs.

"It has also been used extensively by the local community and local clubs. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people involved within the project for making this possible, especially the Football Foundation."

The project was funded with the help of a £52,679 grant from the Football Foundation charity, which is backed by various football and sports organistations.

Its chief executive, Paul Thorogood, said: "We are delighted that the Darlington community will have access to these fantastic new facilities and commend Longfield School and the Durham County FA for their hard work inmaking this happen.

"This is the latest example of thousands of projects across the country that the Football Foundation is supporting with money provided by our funding partners the Premier League, the FA and the Government."