A GROUP of mums from Heddington are organising an auction to raise money for the local play area.

The group is aiming to raise £40,000 to put towards the cost of revamping the play area, behind Heddington Primary School. Lucy Tyler, with two other mums of children in Heddington, Frankie Ovens and Gemma Brown, started the mission to fix up the playground.

Lucy Tyler, of Heddington, said: “We need to raise £40,000 so we can qualify for a grant to pay for the changes that need to be made to the play area. The idea came to us when we held a pub quiz in November, we had people donate prizes to a raffle. We received some very nice things to raffle off including an amazing painting that ended up going for quite a bit of money.”

The auction will be taking place on March 18, with the group still searching for people to donate prizes.

“If people could donate a few items then that would be great. We already have 30 lots ready for auction. Some of the prizes include an annual family membership to Blacklands Health Club that is worth £700, a selection of signed books and a private tour of the House of Commons,” added Mrs Tyler.

“The park needs to be revamped, it is becoming a health and safety issue with the wooden structures perishing. A lot of children play there after school. Children meet and spend time there so we took it upon ourselves to do something about it,” said Mrs Tyler.

The auction is set to take place on March 18 in the Ivy Inn, Heddington at 8pm. If you would like to donate items to the auction you can email the group at penniesforplayheddington@hotmail.com.