A popular play area refurbished thanks to a £55,000 grant will be officially opened on May Bank Holiday weekend.

There will be family-focused fun in Dysart Park, Grantham, from 2pm to 5pm on Sunday 5 May, to mark the installation of exciting new equipment.

The park's play area has been redesigned with money from WREN's Community Action Fund awarded after a successful bid by owner South Kesteven District Council and Dysart Park Action Group, which raised £6,000 for the project.

The opening event will feature stalls and activities for all ages, plus the first-ever Dysart Park Gingerbread Man Races.

Action Group chairman Lydia Gallaher said: "The play area project has made the park an even more attractive place to visit and families, especially those with young children, are already enjoying the new equipment.

"The main purpose of the day is to open the new play area, but we are also having a trial run for a gingerbread-themed event that could become an annual festival to draw even more people to the park.

"Grantham Gingerbread is a local delicacy with a long history and we want to forge a link with that history."

There will be various activities for children based on the theme, such as decorating a printed gingerbread man tied to railings around the new play park and there will be fun races for children and adults.

In line with the popular Gingerbread Man folk tale 'You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man' a 'fox' will chase the runners.

Winners will receive medals and there will be runner-up prizes of a gingerbread man, courtesy of Hawken's Gingerbread.

Grantham Town Supporters Club will also be joining in the fun - they will be challenging visitors to Beat the Goalie as well as selling lottery tickets and promoting the football club.

A spokesperson for SKDC said: "The investment in the play area will make a huge difference to the park, which is already visited by around 30,000 people a year.

"It is a very important community facility and this is just the start as SKDC is committed to investing in all of the parks it owns."

WREN is a not-for-profit business that awards grants for community, biodiversity and heritage projects from funds donated by FCC Environment through the Landfill Communities Fund.

Cheryl Raynor, WREN's local grant manager, said: "We are delighted to have supported the Dysart Park refurbishment project and pleased that our funding has provided such a fantastic facility for children."

The Action Group is always on the lookout for more volunteers. Anyone interested should email [email protected].