A TINY village pre-school is making the most of the unseasonably beautiful weather in its brand new garden.

Yatton Keynell Under-5s has been fundraising to turn the scrubby patch of grass outside the village hall where it is based into a lush garden for the children.

After a year’s effort, and the hard work of parents, an official opening ceremony took place last week.

Pre-school committee chairman Laura White said the children are delighted with their new garden.

“We spent all of last year fundraising for this, and it’s so wonderful to see it come to life,” she said.

“Our little pre-school only has 23 children, although there is room for more. Before this, we didn’t have much of a garden at all. It’s now gone from a sparse amount of grass to a lovely space for the children to use.”

Parents worked hard over the weekend to build the dream garden, which has a sand-pit, a digging area, a pond and raised beds for planting. Children have already been hard at work planting violets and poppies to bring the space to life.

“We’ve raised around £1,500 over the year and spent it all on our garden,” said Miss White.

“It’s designed to be interactive. We want the children to be out there, using it and learning from it as well as playing in it. It is really designed to be a working garden.

“The children are absolutely loving it. They’re just delighted by it all.”

The pre-school is hosting an Easter extravaganza today, with face painting, a trail and crafts.

Miss White said: “It’s open for all. Entry is £3 and all the money will go straight back into the pre-school.”

For more information, visit www.yattonkeynellunder5s.co.ukor call (01249) 783185.