A CHILDREN'S play centre is hoping to gain the support of local families and businesses as it celebrates its fifth birthday.

Boomerang Play Centre, in Woodhill Street, hosted its anniversary celebration on Tuesday and is now hoping to recruit local volunteers to develop a new fundraising arm.

The unique centre caters for thousands of children from across the region, and has been carefully designed to provide equipment for children with a range of disabilities.

A year ago, Boomerang came within days of being forced to shut down due to depleting funds, before receiving an eleventh hour donation from Heywood-based charity the Trewan Sands Children’s (TSC) Trust.

Founder and owner Emma Birkett, who set up the centre after she could not find anywhere suitable for her disabled daughter Ellie to play, said:

"Boomerang is coming up to its fifth birthday and is looking to develop a new team to support with fundraising.

"The new team will be called ‘Friends of Boomerang’. We are looking to recruit local people from the community of Bury who will help us gain some momentum in gaining essential funds in support of keeping Boomerang offering this fantastic provision.

"It is an essential part of the community of Bury and is relied upon by a lot of families, for both children with and without additional needs or disabilities.

"We have spoken to our colleagues from the third sector organisation Bury Parents Forum and they have provided us with a graphic to represent our aims and create an interest going forward. We have also recruited Yvonne Creswell, who was the former mayor of Bury and officially opened the play centre in 2011."

She is also looking for 10 local businesses to pledge their support and raise £1,000 for Boomerang over the next year, in return for promotion at the centre and through its social media sites.

For further enquiries about supporting the centre or becoming a member of ‘Friends of Boomerang’, contact Emma Birkett on boomerangplaycentre@yahoo.co.uk.