Children have given the thumbs-up to a brightly-coloured new playpark.

The Millpool play area in West Looe opened its gates this week and children got their first chance to play on the equipment.

The two mums who initiated the project, Natacha Tagholm and Rebecca Zervou, hope the new disabled-friendly play area will give tourism in the town a boost and will improve the local economy. More than 100 children enjoyed the children's fete and made the most of the play area once it was opened on Saturday.

'It was like a stampede – you had to get out of the way quickly,' said Natacha. 'It is great to see that the play area has been used constantly since the opening. Saturday was not a one-off – it is busy all the time, and with the summer holidays coming up, it is going to be packed.

'Rebecca and I are so proud to have made this contribution to Looe and we hope it will encourage others to undertake similar community projects. It just goes to show what can be achieved, and we would like to thank everyone who has supported us.'

The project, which cost £165,000, took the mums two and a half years of hard work in conjunction with Looe Development Trust to raise the funds needed.

Representatives of the various bodies who assisted with the funding for the play area attended the official opening.

Rebecca said: 'I am delighted with the successful completion of the new playground. It was amazing to see children – my own included – get so much joy from this long-awaited project. I hope it will be an asset to the town for many years to come.'