New images reveal an eye-catching £70,000 makeover of a “neglected” park is a step closer to completion.

Ashford Borough Council (ABC) has now rolled out several improvements to Hythe Road Recreation Ground, including the installation of new tennis and pickleball courts.

The authority selected the 18-acre plot opposite Willesborough Post Office for multiple upgrades more than five years ago.

Sitting between Hythe Road and Osborne Road, ‘The Rec' has long been a hotspot for thousands of visitors throughout the year.

However, the site had become almost unplayable, with degrading concrete tennis courts featuring no nets and overgrown shrubbery.

A separate basketball court directly behind it had also become overused, with court lines barely visible.

But, several weeks after work to transform the site began, work on its new multi-use games area (MUGA) is complete.

It has seen the construction of a brand new tennis court with a permanently fixed metal net.

A pickleball court has also been added alongside a blue and red-coloured hopscotch area on its resurfaced and line-painted concrete area.

Meanwhile, the park's second basketball court, directly behind the MUGA, has also been resurfaced and repainted to facilitate other ball games.

Cllr Liz Wright believes the changes are a significant improvement on what existed previously.

The Green Party representative for Willesborough Lees said: "People have worked hard on it and it looks really nice now.

"The former tennis courts there look so much better now compared to before when it looked quite terrible and neglected.

“So it's great what has happened and it's more permanent now, too.”

Already boasting a zip line and other play park equipment, 'The Rec' also features a long-standing play park with slides and swings.

Work to enhance this section of the site is to be carried out next year.

It will see the installation of new callisthenics equipment to allow gymgoers to strength train outside by using their body weight for resistance.

The park's existing small, red climbing frame will also be replaced with an accessible roundabout for wheelchair users, while the current sandpit will be replaced with a bigger climbing frame and two more wooden structures.

There will also be new fruit trees placed around the site's perimeter, including around the sports fields to provide shade for spectators.

Work is also set to get underway by Aspire Landscape Management to clear vegetation in the adjacent cricket ground car park, so Kent County Council (KCC) can restore the so-called missing link connecting it to Hythe Road.

Once complete, the project will cost more than £70,000 generated through Section 106 contributions from developers.

Cllr Steve Campkin (Greens, Willesborough Lees) previously said the scheme was "the culmination of five-and-a-half years work between ABC, KCC, North Willesborough Community Forum and residents".