RAF staff fly in to aid playground project

RAF personnel from MoD Stafford have come to the aid of a Cannock charity that needed manpower to carry out a refurbishment project.

A team from the Tactical Supply Wing at the base at Beaconside will be spending two days working for Cannock Special Needs Adventure Playground.

The Snap project was set up six years ago with the aid of Big Lottery funding of £497,546 to provide indoor and outdoor activities for children with special needs and their families including autistic children.

Charity spokeswoman Suzanne Newell said they had been approached by the TSW team who had heard about the refurbishment project to offer assistance .

"We are about to start a period of refurbishment so we gratefully took up their offer," she said.

The RAF personnel will be at the playground in Pye Green Road on Tuesday and Wednesday proving the manual labour that is urgently needed.

Suzanne said that one of the main jobs would be restoring the sandpit by digging out all the old sand and replacing it with clean new sand.

The playground also has facilities for children in wheelchairs including a roundabout and swing as well as a sensory garden and multi-sensory room.

There is also an aerial runway, cycle track with specially adapted bikes and a craft room.

The registered charity has also recently received money from the Children in Need organisation to start running its own computer club.

It also operates a mother and toddler group.

Snap, which is open seven days a week, is also looking for more people to get involved with fundraising. Anyone interested can contact bosses on 01543 579286.

More information is available from the organisation's website at www.snap cannock.co.uk