A NEW addition to a recently refurbished children’s play park in Middleton-in-Teesdale has proved to be a big hit.
Percy the Penguin, a 90-litre moulded plastic litter bin, was donated by Middleton-in-Bloom and was installed earlier this month at Wesley Terrace Play Park.
Pam Phillips, from Middleton-in-Bloom, said: “We get all our plants from a company called Amberol in Derbyshire and they asked me to carry out a survey. They must have picked my name out of the hat because they got in touch to say I had won a prize up to the value of £300.
“We have plenty of planters in the village so we suggested the bin to the parish council and they agreed to pay the difference.
“The mums who did all the fundraising to get the new equipment have done a fantastic job and you can see by the number of children enjoying the play area what a success it has been.”
The volunteers, who meet each Monday, have been keeping busy ensuring all the floral displays around the village are in tip-top condition for the Northumbria in Bloom contest.
Work to give signposts, lampposts and bus shelters has yet to be carried out by Durham County Council’s Find it and Fix It teams and Ms Phillips hopes it will be done in time for the summer judging in July. Ms Phillips added: “We’re a small team of about eight volunteers although we do get help from partners for some jobs.
“Spring judging didn’t go ahead as normal this year. We had to send evidence online. It’s a wait-and-see situation with the summer judging in July. We will know on June 21 if it’s going to go ahead.”
