Pupils from Kingswood Primary School in Corby went down to the Arty Smarty Park in Kenilworth, in the Kingswood estate, on Friday, to place drawings in the walls.

The play area was the brainchild of county councillor John McGhee, who put £5,000 from his leadership allowance towards the project. He has worked with children from the nearby community school – who came up with the name for the venture. Corby Council and Northamptonshire County Council have also helped make sure the project got off the ground.

Weldon Plant also volunteered its services to help dig out the foundations.

Cllr McGhee said: "The children have done a fantastic job displaying the art.

"Hopefully the area should be opened next month."

The estate has an historic lack of play areas for youngsters and residents in the area have appealed for years to get more safe places for their children to play.

All county councillors are given money at the beginning of each financial year to spend on projects in their communities, and Cllr McGhee decided to put his money towards helping youngsters.

Leanne McKay, 26, lives on the Kingswood estate with her two children who are aged three and four.

She said: "It will be really nice to have somewhere new for the children to go and play. People here do watch out for their neighbours' youngsters but they often have to play in the street or just on the grass outside the houses because there aren't all that many facilities for them to play on.

"It is really nice that they've got the children involved in designing it too because it means they will probably have a bit more respect for the equipment."