Work to reinstate a nursery school playground has been completed in Derbyshire.

More than 200 pupils at Elmsleigh Infant and Nursery School in Swadlincote were left without a play area in May this year after a dip on the surface of the tarmac turned into a small ground collapse.

Following examinations, the Coal Authority confirmed that the hole was the result of past coal mining and specialist contractors began working to reinstate the playground. The collapse was initially infilled with stone before drilling was undertaken to ascertain the extent of the problem in an area where coal was known to occur within a shallow coal seam or outcrop.

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Drilling revealed the extent of the collapse and it was designated as being a shallow unrecorded shaft – a possible bell pit. Shallow workings were also found under the remainder of the playground and so the shaft was capped with a reinforced concrete slab, as well as filling out the old workings with concrete grout.

The initial work was completed during the first week of the summer holidays. Afterwards, pupils drew new game markings for outdoor play on the ground, marking the completion of the project.

Alan Hines, Project Manager for the Coal Authority: "It will be good to see the playground finished with new markings that have been designed by both children and parents. This will bring a very nice end to an incident, which saw both the playground and the markings ruined."

Image: Alan Hines and Mick Owens from the Coal Authority's Public Safety and Subsidence Team oversee the repairs to the playground.

(LM/MH)