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Parents call for accessible playground for toddler

Liz Jeeves/BBC A man in a white shirt next to a woman with a black dress holding a child in a purple dressLiz Jeeves/BBC
The family travel about 15 miles to Bedford every week so Ivy can use facilities that are not available in Higham Ferrers

The parents of a toddler paralysed from the waist down are fundraising to build a inclusive playground near their home.

Claire Gillman and Simon White, from Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, currently take their disabled daughter Ivy to a suitable park 40 minutes away in Bedford.

The pair want to raise around £70,000 to fund a site with accessible play equipment in Higham Ferrers.

Ms Gillman said the project would "benefit the whole local area".

Liz Jeeves/BBC A slide, a pink climbing frame and a silver balance beam in the middle of a grass areaLiz Jeeves/BBC
Ivy's local park in Higham Ferrers does not cater for disabled people

Ivy, aged two, has spina bifida and is paralysed from the waist down. She cannot play on conventional playground equipment easily.

The family hope the money raised will fund specialist play equipment including a wheelchair-friendly roundabout, a sunken trampoline and protected climbing frames.

Ms Gillman said a playground built "for everyone" would mean "everything" – not just to Ivy but to other families, too.

She added: "I know so many other families that would appreciate [an inclusive playground], not just in Higham but in Wellingborough, Kettering and Corby.

"We visit big places like Wicksteed Park and Irchester Country Park a lot, but they don't have any disability equipment."

The family's fundraiser is due to take place in October.

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