CHILDREN in Boston have been hit by Government cuts for a second time in two months after a £50,000 grant for playground schemes in the borough was withdrawn.

The money was the third installment of a £140,000 award given to Boston Borough Council under the previous Government's Playbuilder initiative.

But it will now not be paid out after education secretary Michael Gove brought a premature end to the scheme only weeks after he also axed hundreds of school building projects including two in Boston.

Borough council portfolio holder for parks, amenities and rural communities Jim Blaylock told the Target: "Thanks to the Playbuilder funding and the exceptional hard work of the council's play activities worker, Fran Taylor, Boston has gained two fantastic play areas that benefit many families within our community.

"It is a real shame that national cut backs have led to the withdrawal of any further funding of this kind."

Years one and two of the Playbuilder funding for Boston has been spent on an all weather, multi-use games area in Fosdyke and refurbishment of Graves Park Play Area in Kirton.

Both sites are complete and the council says they are proving "extremely popular".

Announcing the Playbuilder cuts Mr Gove said he was reducing funding for play projects to protect frontline education services.

The Government has also scrapped targets for the number of play facilities councils have to provide.

Shadow education secretary Ed Balls, who introduced the Playbuilder scheme, described its scrapping as "sad".

He said: "These cancelled schemes were designed by local children and parents often working with the voluntary sector so this decision doesn't say much for the government's big society agenda."