CHILDREN could be unlikely victims of the credit crunch if their play areas are neglected.

The issue emerged after 101 residents of Corben Close and Beaver Road in Allington protested to the council their play area was overgrown and would not be available to children in the summer holidays.

The work was the responsibility of developers Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey under a legal contract known as a Section 106 agreement.

Now the grass has been cut by the council after its leader, Cllr Chris Garland (Con), stepped in.

The bill will be sent to the developers.

Cllr Malcolm Robertson (Lib Dem), who represents Allington, told the meeting that getting money from developers was like “blood from a stone” because of the credit crunch, which had led to some housing firms losing hundreds of jobs.

Full story in this week's Kent Messenger