There was a mad rush of children on Saturday eager to try out the new equipment they helped choose for the extended play area in Everleigh.

The parish council spent just over £20,000 adding new play equipment that the children from the village helped choose.

With only 200 households in the tiny village on the edge of Salisbury Plain the cost equated to about £100 per family although, parish council chairman David Beaton explained, all the money came in the form of grants.

The former Kennet District Council chipped in £10,000; the Hills Group based in Marlborough gave £11,400 from landfill tax credits; Legal and General and the former Tidworth area board each donated £1,000.

Coun Beaton said Hills had been particularly generous towards Everleigh because they had donated £6,000 about six years ago towards some of the existing equipment in the play area.

A sub committee of three parish councillors led by Tony Bradford consulted local children to get ideas of the kind of equipment they wanted in the play area.

Alan Pardoe, Hills Group chairman, went along on Saturday to officially open the new play area.

Coun Beaton said: “There was a fabulous turn out by the village. When we opened the gate there was this mad rush and within seconds every piece of equipment was in use.”

Quite a few families decided to make a day of it and took along picnics which they were able to enjoy on the adjacent area that has been set aside for a BMX track.

Coun Beaton said that although a start had been made on creating the jumps for the BMX track the village would have to raise at least £5,000 more to complete it.

Guests at the opening included Coun Charles Howard, formerly the local Kennet representative and now Wiltshire Council member.

the village rents the playground site from the Ministry of Defence for a peppercorn annual rent.