FORTY five children's lives have been made happier - thanks to a Leigh haven.

The Stonehouse Contact Centre opened a year ago this month to provide a safe place in which children of broken relationships can meet their absent parents.

Now the centre, based in the Stonehouse Day Nursery, St Helens Road, is to celebrate its first anniversary with a party to say thank-you to its volunteers.

When the original steering group was set up it was calculated that 20 people would be needed, but 30 helpers came forward for the Saturday morning get togethers.

Nursery manager, Margaret Tucker, said: "Since we opened we have enabled 27 families, involving 45 children, to meet on neutral ground.

"Contact centres aim to create a stress-free atmosphere where there are toys and activities to enable both parents and children to develop and maintain their relationship.

"The centre's most important feature is that it is clearly seen to be totally independent of the authorities, such as the justice system, the courts, the probation service and the council.

"Contact centres are not child minding services or reconciliation agencies, they are very important places for children whose parents no longer live together.

"Every year 180,000 marriages end in divorce affecting 160,000 childen. It is calculated that 70,000 of these will lose touch completely with one parent, usually the father.

"There are also lots of couples who separate without divorcing, and couples who live together, have children and then part, about whom there are no statistics."

The anniversary celebration will take place tonight at the centre.

Anyone interested in volunteering to help at the 10am to 1pm sessions they should contact Margaret on 01942 674556.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.