The ribbon has been cut on a newly refurbished play park as dozens of children descended on Beccles Quay.

The upgraded facilities, part of a £250,000 investment, were officially opened on Thursday, June 2, with the grand opening held at the start of the town's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Town mayor Barry Darch said: "I am very pleased to see so many people enjoying themselves and the new park.

"It gives me great pleasure to declare the park is officially open.

"It is a real honour to be able to welcome everyone along as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee weekend.

"There is a real buzz all around the town and people of all ages have been making an effort to enjoy the weekend and it's great, after the hard couple of years we've all had, to get back to normal.

East Suffolk Councillor Elfrede Brambley-Crawshaw, who cut the ribbon alongside the town mayor, added: "It is great to see so many children enjoying the park already."

The family event saw children's entertainment provided by Andy Miller,

Former town mayor Ashley Lever said: "We have been trying to do this since 2018 but have sadly been delayed, especially with Covid, so it is so great to see it finally finished and open to the public.

"As soon as the pandemic happened, all of our attention and resources went towards that, so as soon as we could meet up with contractors we could finally get started.

"There has been a lot of hard work gone into this, but seeing so many people enjoying themselves is what it is all about."

Further seating will be added around the park in the coming weeks.

The refurbishment was partly funded through a range of grants, including from Tesco Community Grants, who remain open for applications, as well as from the Alan Boswell Group Charitable Trust and Mrs Brambley-Crawshaw's 2018-19 mayoral appeal.