A nursery school criticised by Ofsted for its poor outdoor facilities has performed a complete turnaround.

Despite being rated good overall, Belah Community Nursery in Carlisle came under fire from the inspectors, who called for improvements to the outdoor play area after it failed to comply with Ofsted regulations.

On Wednesday, several years of fundraising and saving came to fruition as children marked the official opening of their colourful new outdoor facility.

From a sandpit to reading areas, colourful toys and eye-catching decorations dangling from the trees, it has been hailed as the perfect place for youngsters to enjoy the great outdoors.

Among those at the official opening was former Carlisle mayor, Councillor Steven Bowditch.

“The nursery is based at Belah Community Centre and we were told several years ago that we didn’t comply with Ofsted requirements for outdoor play areas,” said Mr Bowditch, who is chairman of the Belah Nursery Committee.

“They were quite happy that we were working towards improving the play area and had clear plans in place to raise the money required.

“This new play area has allowed us to meet that requirement and to make it far more pleasurable and rewarding for the children.”

In total it cost about £15,000 to build – with the surface costing more than £11,000 and the rest spent on toys and equipment.

One-third of the cash was provided by Cumbria county councillor for Belah Alan Toole from his member’s allowance, a third was given by the county council itself and the remaining £5,000 was raised by the nursery.

Mr Bowditch continued: “We raised the money little by little, through Christmas raffles, cake sales and careful saving.

“Our next aim is to raise money for a canopy.”

The canopy will cost between £10,000 and £12,000 and would allow the nursery school to use the facility whatever the weather.

Mary Seymour, secretary of the committee and whose four children all attended the nursery, added: “What we had before was grassy and soggy and wasn’t quality play time.

“Now we have had a resurface and it’s a million times better and the children can go out so much more often.”

The last Ofsted inspection was in 2014 and Mrs Seymour admitted they have been working since then to get the new facility in place.