CHILDREN are zipping around a village play ground after a new piece of play equipment was installed.

The playground at Reed village green has now been kitted out with an £11,000 zip line. It was officially opened on Monday at a ceremony attended by Oliver Heald, MP for North East Herts.

Peter Lawrence, chairman of Reed parish council, said: “We first had the idea put forward as part of our parish plan, then Reed primary asked its children to write to the parish council with suggestions to improve the village, and this was one of the things that was requested a lot.

“We wanted to do something which would be good for the older children in the village because a lot of the equipment on the playground is aimed at the younger ones.

“The zip line has been open ‘unofficially’ for a couple of weeks, and has already proved to be a very popular addition.”

Funding for the project came from a National Lottery Big Lottery Fund grant of £10,000, with the parish council providing the rest of the cash.