A play area at Betteshanger Recreation Ground has been undergoing a transformation thanks to volunteers at the pharmaceutical company Pfizer.

The park has received a new set of swings and a lick of paint when Pfizer volunteers came to help the project started by the Parish of Northbourne Recreation Projects committee.

Pat Skelton, from the committee, said: “We have put in a lot of new equipment and then when it came to a new swing set, if you were to completely replace it including the safety surfacing it would be a huge project and a huge amount of money.”

The money the group had already paid for replacing the swings themselves and an engineer inspection, then Pfizer volunteers donated their time to fit them and refurbish the swing frames.

Mrs Skelton said: “To have Pfizer volunteers come in and do that was so brilliant. It would have taken our committee weeks and weeks of work and we’re not getting any younger.”

The swing project was also helped by a You Decide grant scheme from Dover District Council and Kent County Council last year.

The group was awarded £2,500 and another £1,000 was raised by the annual summer fete.

The grant was secured by the youngest member of the committee, Robert McFarlane-Smith, 19, who went along with a couple of children from the village to give a speech about how important the recreation ground is to residents.

The swings are now open to the public and have already been enjoyed by children during the summer holidays.

Graeme Napier, manager at Pfizer’s site at Discovery Park in Sandwich said: “We’re delighted to have worked with the Parish of Northbourne Recreation Projects team to install the new swings at Betteshanger play area.

“A number of Pfizer colleagues gave their time to refurbish the swings and hope that many families in the area will be able to enjoy them.”