COMMUNITY leaders are looking to recruit wardens to help run a children's play area on the outskirts of Westbury.

The Hawkeridge Park facility was reopened last week more than eight months after it was trashed by drunk teenagers.

The play area cost £14,000 to refurbish and Heywood Parish Council hopes to employ a warden to unlock the site at 10am and close it at 9.30pm or dusk. So far no-one has come forward and the job is being shared by parish councillors like Joyce Smith who live nearby.

She said: "We do need wardens. I can open it in the morning, but if children are still on the site when we come to close it we have to remove them. If they then refuse to leave, we close the gate and lock them in and call the police. I don't want to have to do this."

Cllr Smith organised a survey in January, which showed parents of under 12s were supportive of the play area, but admits older youngsters are still missing out.

She said: "Unfortunately, when it reopened we had to impose a rule that it's only for children up to 12 years old. The site is not big enough to accommodate all of the children from The Ham area. We had to consider residents adjacent to it. They are entitled to some peace and quiet.

"I do feel sorry for the older boys who have to walk two miles to Penleigh Park to play football. I've been trying since 1999 to do something for them and I shall continue to beaver away at it."

Work is under way on a new play area at the nearby Paxmans Road estate and an open space is due to follow this autumn, which parents hope will ease the problem.