THE Green Flag is flying high over Close Park after the Radcliffe park snapped up a national award.

And by scoring more than 80 points, it has made it into the top eight, putting it on a par with Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest!

The Green Flag scheme is run by the Civic Trust and the Commission for the Built Environment. A total of 253 green spaces across England and Wales have achieved the award, up from only seven when the scheme was launched in 1997.

Improvements at Close Park include re-surfaced roads and footways, an all-weather ball zone and tennis courts, security fencing to the bowling green, a new play area and benches, and a park ranger.

Paul Todd, Green Flag award manager at the Civic Trust, said: "Good green spaces increase the quality of people's lives, particularly in built up areas where not everyone has access to a garden."