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Dad built unauthorised play area for 'bored kids'

Jonny HumphriesNorth West, Kirkby
Jonny Humphries/BBC Lewellyn Mitchell, 45, who has a grey beard and is wearing a green baseball cap with the peak turned backwards and a black Duffer branded hoodie, smiles at the camera in front of wooden children's play equipment on a grassy field, surrounded by terraced houses. He is holding a stack of 'park activity waivers' on A4 paper printed with a colourful cartoon image of children playing.Jonny Humphries/BBC
Lewellyn Mitchell said he was happy to work with Knowsley Council to allay any concerns about the equipment

A father who installed an unauthorised children's play area on public land said the initial idea came because he wanted to give "bored kids" something to do.

Lewellyn Mitchell built three sets of swings, a slide and a trampolines on a council-owned grassy field in Tower Hill, Kirkby, close to Pingwood Park.

The play area sparked a big response - including messages of support for Mitchell - after Knowsley Council posted a statement on Facebook warning parents that no official safety checks had taken place.

Mitchell who lives next to the grassy field on Winmoss Drive, said: "I wasn't expecting this at all, I really wasn't."

The 45-year-old, originally from South Africa, said a couple of months ago he was contacted by a friend who owns a furniture shop, who said he was overstocked and asked if Mitchell would like some swings for his own children.

Jonny Humphries/BBC Lewellyn Mitchell, 45, who has a grey beard and is wearing a green baseball cap with the peak turned backwards and a black Duffer branded hoodie, looks at the camera in front of wooden children's play equipment on a grassy field, surrounded by terraced houses. He is holding a stack of 'park activity waivers' on A4 paper printed with a colourful cartoon image of children playing.Jonny Humphries/BBC
Mitchell said local youngsters had been "bored" before the playground was built

"I got myself a container and put it in there," Mitchell said.

"And then one day my daughter asked, 'can we put a swing up on the field just for the end of the fence?'

"I put two swings up, and then more kids came around to play so they were standing waiting for them.

"So I ended up installing another one and another one, and then I've done the slide one and hopefully this weekend, next week, I'll be putting up some towers as well."

Mitchell said he did not believe installing the equipment would be a "big thing", but said he could "see where Knowsley Council were coming from" and was happy to explain the specifications of the equipment with the authority.

He said since the council issued its statement he has erected signs making clear that the play area is unsupervised and anyone using it is doing so "at their own risk".

Jonny Humphries/BBC A small sign, posted into a grassy field, reads 'Unsupervised Play Area - Use Play Area At Own Risk'. In the back ground are two sets of swings and a green slide next to a wooden board with climbing-wall style hand and foot holds bolted onto it. Jonny Humphries/BBC
Mitchell said he has been asking parents to sign a waiver before using the equipment

He also said: "I have had every parent sign a waiver with their children for playing on their own risk."

But Mitchell said he feels that there is a clear need for public play equipment locally after authorised play equipment was recently removed from a piece of land nearby.

"Since then our kids have been sitting indoors, bored, so this is something that has really, really been needed," he said.

"I'll be honest, it's just great to see my daughter out there instead of inside on the iPad or on the telly."

Mitchell said he is due to speak to the council to discuss the equipment.

A Knowsley Council spokesperson told the BBC: "We appreciate the efforts and generosity of those who have contributed to this initiative, but we need to ensure that the equipment is safe and suitable for levels of use as well as being installed correctly for everyone's safety.

"We are now in contact with the organiser."

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