NEARLY £1,000 has been raised for a children’s playgroup thanks to the success of the Dirleton Fun Run.

The family friendly day, held at Archerfield Walled Garden earlier this month, challenged locals to run either 10 or five kilometres.

Nearly 200 people, with 65 runners, turned out for the event, sponsored by CALA Homes (East).

A further 60 children also completed a mini fun run to help support the village’s playgroup.

Sarah Thomson, local mum and event co-ordinator, was delighted with the day’s success.

She said: “We were overwhelmed by the high turnout – the atmosphere really was electric and the sunny weather was definitely a bonus.

“After the serious business of running was complete, we had a fantastic time in The Walled Garden with a bouncy castle, face painting, balloon modelling and entertainers for the children.

“It was great to see people of all ages enjoying themselves and managing to raise such a large sum of money was just fantastic.

“Fundraising events like this are crucial to the success of Dirleton Playgroup as it means that we can invest in all sorts of new materials to help in our children’s development and education.” Mrs Thomson also praised the efforts of CALA, which has two developments in North Berwick and helped with set-up costs.

She added: “It’s highly encouraging to see a developer like CALA investing in local groups within the communities it’s working in and I’d like to thank them and all of the other local businesses that contributed for their kind support and generosity.” A total of £962 was raised on the day to go towards the playgroup, which is run for children between the ages of two and five years old, four days a week at Dirleton Church Hall.

Sarah Stanger, sales and marketing manager at CALA Homes (East), was delighted to help out.

“At CALA Homes we take great pride in helping to foster that all important community spirit in the areas where we build and it’s events like these that really help bring people of all generations together,” she said.

“We would like to say a big well done to both the competitors and the organisers for making the day such a tremendous success.”