Bedlington charity Leading Link hails Fun Fridays pilot scheme's 'considerable benefits'

Bedlington-based charity Leading Link has been running events every Friday between 9.45am and 5.30pm for the last seven weeks as part of a test period for the project.

The events involve soft play, magic shows, story time, and more, and are targeted at families with preschool aged children.

Leading Link operations and finance manager Chris Johnson said: "We made this an open house drop-in to allow people to attend with their children when they can.

“Now that the pilot is over we are seeing members of the community taking responsibility.

“We are hoping that the project will continue as it is giving considerable benefits, mainly in the health area.”

Fun Fridays, intended to involve the community in activities and provide a space for families to spend quality time together, have seen around 200 participants so far.

The project’s pay-as-you-feel cafe has been opening during the events.