CAMPAIGNERS battling to get a dilapidated playground renovated have been offered support from an unexpected source.

Parents in Wanstead have been trying to get the children's play area in Christchurch Green refurbished for more than a year.

They were promised £5,000 by Area One committee in October - £3,500 of which will go towards replacing an ageing set of swings - but told that no more money was currently available to fund the £45,000 refurbishment they believe is necessary.

But their mood has been lifted after the manager of Bar Room Bar in Wanstead High Street announced plans to lend them financial and practical support.

Kerry O'Reilly contacted the Guardian to say that the firm's owners had been following the issue in this newspaper - and that they wanted to do their bit to help.

She said: "This playground is an important facility for children and families in Wanstead.

"It is used by the children of many of our customers, and we want to help make sure it is as well equipped and nice to use as possible.

"I know the council is short of cash to make the upgrades the campaigners want to see, so we want to lend our support to them in any way we can."

Ms O'Reilly said her firm was considering a range of options for supporting the campaign, including making a possible financial donation, fundraising and offering practical help from its own contractors.

She said: "We just need to speak to the campaigners and find out what they need."

The offer was welcomed by father-of-two Scott Shillum, of Cranbourne Avenue, Wanstead - who has helped lead the campaign.

He said: "We have been trying to get the wider community involved in this, so this is really welcome news.

"The £1,500 that is left over after the swings have been replaced will not be enough to make the upgrades we want.

"It is only enough to cover the cost of one new 'springy' apparatus, and this would look a bit sad on its own so we ideally want two.

"We're about £400 short of what we need for this so any help that local businesses can give us to cover this would be fantastic."

These views were echoed by his wife, Sue.

She said: "This is great news.

"It shows how important this issue is to the community as a whole and it will be interesting to see if any other shops or businesses get involved in this now.

"The parents who bring their children to the park to use the play area use the shops in the High Street so I suppose it is in their interests too."

A spokeswoman for Bar Room Bar said no firm plans had yet been made but that the company would speak to campaigners and the council to find out how it could help.