CHILDREN who wrote to Burnley Council will get the playground of their dreams - thanks to the Challenge Fund agreeing to provide £2,000.

Eleven children from the Melrose Avenue and Kinross Street area of got together to make their plea for a better place to play to Chris Keene, of the South West Burnley Community Development team.

They wrote: "Some of the children who live on Melrose Avenue would like to know if we could have more things to play on at the playground on the back field. We would like baby swings, a slide, springy animal, monkey bars and an assault course. We would like some trees and flowers, benches and more bins. "We would like a baby park where the bungalows have been knocked down. We would like all the rubbish cleaned up more often.

"Please can you go to the council and see if they can do these things for us. Thank you."

In summer, 1994, local people were asked to vote on options for the back field between Melrose Avenue and Kinross Street and most people wanted a park with a benches and a play area.

Children drew up plans supported by the recreation and leisure committee and more than 100 people carried out the work over a two-day period.

Unfortunately, the playground remained unfinished.

Now the grant from the Challenge Fund will mean the area can be finished during the spring Bank Holiday week and a slide, wooden assault course and monkey bars will be added.

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