CHILDREN in a Gwent village now have a safe place to play, thanks to their parents.

Residents group Penhow Community Events formed in November 2006 when a group of parents and residents decided the village needed more child-friendly facilities.

And now after two years of fundraising the group has paid the £15,000 needed for a playground to be installed in the centre of the village.

Group treasurer, Karen Whittle said activities such as auctions, car boot sales, and Christmas fairs were used alongside grant money and council funding to pay for swings, slides, climbing frames and goal posts.

Ms Whittle, who has three children, thanked Blackwood based confectioners Bon Bon Buddies, for providing the group with excess stock so it could be resold and the money put to good use.

Ms Whittle, 48, said the facilities were the first stage of their project to improve village life for the children and that much more was being planned for the future.

She said: "It is a village where there has always been a lot of older people living there. But recently a lot of families have come in but there hasn't been much there for the children."

For more information on Penhow Community Events visit www.penhowcommunity.org.uk