Children get a taste of play '˜like the old days'

Struck by the difference between the freedom she enjoyed as a child and that of her daughter, she decided to organise a Play Streets day in New Road.

“I liked the idea of reclaiming the road outside our house for a little while and giving it back to the community,” she explained.

“I wanted to get to know the neighbours and for Tilly to get to know more kids in the area.”

Last Monday, the road was closed from East Street to Surry Street for two hours and turned into one big playground.

Katherine pointed out that statistics suggest her daughter’s generation will be the first to have a shorter life span than their parents.

She added: “They are more likely to experience obesity-related diseases, depression and alienation. When we were younger, 71 per cent of us played out on our streets every day – compared to only 21 per cent of children nowadays.”

Adults also enjoyed getting together for a chat and a laugh.

Resident Tina Carter said: “We’re really pleased to see this happening in Shoreham – we’ve lived here 19 years and it’s great to see our community becoming stronger with people more willing to get involved.

“It’s too easy to hide behind our front doors and to ignore people.”

Adur and Worthing councils are piloting the new scheme to encourage children to get back to traditional play outdoors in their own streets.

Visit www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/get-up-and-active/children/playing-out for more information.