A SPILSBY pre-school is appealing to the local community for help to transform its outdoor play area.

Totschool playgroup has been based in the Youth Room at the Franklin Hall for almost 10 years and is now trying to expand the play facilities it provides for its children.

In Easter 2008, phase one of the project was completed at a cost of nearly £20,000, providing a soft surfaced area complete with sand pit, playhouse and slide.

Funding from the Local Network Fund, the Birth to Five service and Surestart's Capital Play Space scheme together with £4,500 of the group's own fundraising enabled the project to go ahead.

Now, the group is trying to raise a further £4,945 for phase two which will see an adjoining gravelled area covered with tarmac to provide more room for children to play.

Joint manager at the group Tanya Pawson explained: "Phase One has provided us with a great outdoor space for the children to play in but it is still a bit too small for them to ride their cars around and it would be nice to have somewhere they have more room to play.

"Several parents have also donated money or items to us when their children have left has really helped us. The idea for Phase Two will be to provide an area where we can paint roads and have garages where the cars can be stored with activity boards around the edges. It also means there will be spaces for those children who do not want to be amongst the hustle and bustle."

Although some funding towards the next phase is in the pipeline, Totschool would be interested to hear from anyone locally who could support the project with financial donations or through equipment.

Tanya added: "We are very keen to get the children doing things like gardening, we have a few boxes that have been donated by parents. Anything that people could donate would be fantastic event something like a compost bin would be great to get the children doing activities outside."

Anyone interested in offering their support can contact Totschool managers Tanya Pawson or Debra Motley on 01790 754048.