The great outdoors has become even more exciting for youngsters at a Beccles nursery.

A major revamp of the play area facilities at the Big Sky Nursery has been carried out – thanks to numerous donations from locals.

After staff at the nursery in Station Road mentioned their planned makeover on social media they were inundated with support from the public, as people and businesses rallied round to help.

Big Sky Nursery was given artificial grass, old crates and tyres to turn into planters and even a shed for keeping the children’s bicycles in.

Tesco, in Beccles, donated plants and four Tesco staff even joined in with the nursery’s own team for the weekend to help out with the makeover.

They got stuck in by creating a new sensory area for children aged under two, a construction zone for budding builders, an outdoor classroom for use in the wet weather and a bug hotel to encourage mini beasts into the garden.

Nursery manager Leanne Clarke said: “We are so grateful to all our local helpers who gave us items to use and their time and muscle power so we could jazz up the garden for our children.

“When we mentioned our planned makeover on social media we never expected the response we had. We had people knocking on the door donating things.

“The garden was looking a little tired after the winter but now it’s bright and colourful with new areas for the children to explore, just in time for some sunny weather.”

The team also built a new area for mums to leave buggies when dropping children at the nursery and planted a vegetable patch.

Big Sky Nursery is a subsidiary of East Coast Community Healthcare (ECCH), the social enterprise which provides NHS community health services across Norfolk and Suffolk.