VILLAGERS in Ryedale are celebrating a lottery windfall of more than £50,000 towards new sports and play facilities for the community.

Children from Nawton and Beadlam, outside Helmsley, can look forward to a bright new play area thanks to the money, which will be used to fund three sets of outdoor facilities.

Bernadette Wright, who is secretary of the playing fields committee and a pupil support assistant at Nawton County Primary School, said: "We are absolutely thrilled and the children are delighted, very excited.

"There are going to be three areas to cater for everyone, with a teenage area, a place for infants and a separate area for juniors.

"Hopefully, we will be able to get started in the next six weeks or so."

The cash boost will also provide an electricity supply to the sports pavilion and a drop-in centre is planned for older children.

Chris Rymer, chairwoman of the Beckett Recreation Club, is overseeing the ambitious development.

She said they were hoping to have a drop-in facility up and running from next year, with help and advice available.

"We don't have anywhere at the moment, so this would be somewhere for the older children to drop in, have a coffee and a chat," she explained.

"It would be like a youth club really, with a darts board and a table tennis facility."

Mrs Rymer said that with an electricity supply to the pavilion in Nawton, it would be easier to provide hot drinks and better lighting - at the moment they relied on bottled gas.

With the improved facilities, the club was looking to organise more frequent events to include the whole community.

"Our rounders is very popular and we thought once a month we might have a family afternoon for everyone to join in. We really want to try and make this a community centre and, hopefully, we can make it more of a meeting place with a better kitchen and so on."

Mrs Rymer said the lottery funding was a crucial step for the club in its plans to upgrade.

"We hope things will be up and running by Easter, although some of that will depend on the weather.

"The lottery funding is a fantastic start, although the money has already been spent - every penny has been accounted for."

She said: "The children have seen a really nice helter-skelter they would like, so we are constantly looking forward to what's next."

Updated: 08:40 Tuesday, October 08, 2002