A free-to-use outdoor gym that is accessible for all has opened at a park in a Fenland village. 

Doddington Parish Council, who own the playing field at The Abbey on Beech Avenue, let the field for use by local football teams for many years.

When this agreement came to an end, the council looked into the vast opportunity that the now, nearly empty field would offer.

Discussions were held at parish council meetings as to how things could progress.

Roger Wilkin, clerk to Doddington Parish Council, said: "At our annual assembly meeting in May this year, we announced that we would like to make use of some of the space to encourage a greater use of the facility, and showed illustrations of what we might be able to offer, in the months and years ahead.

"These included outdoor gyms, trim trails and climbing walls, and we asked for suggestions from residents as to what they would like to see additionally, and advertised for suggestions in the Doddington Diary, on our website Doddingtonparishcouncil.gov.uk and on our Facebook page."

After more discussions and meetings with suppliers of various equipment, a decision was made to put in an outdoor gym.

"This, we felt, would appeal to all ages and all abilities, would be easy to introduce and would show that we were keen to ensure that we were seen to be making a start on making full use of the superb facility that we have at Abbey," the clerk added.

"We then discussed what pieces of equipment we should include in the gym.

"Our aim was to make it all inclusive, so we opted for a seven-piece adult facility that caters for all ages from 11 to retirement and beyond.

"We then added two pieces that are specifically designed for primary age and very importantly, we added a piece that would cater for the disabled, which is also capable of catering for two people at the same time."

The suppliers, Fresh Air Fitness, are a specialist company supplying outside gym equipment to councils, education establishments, care homes and hospitals. 

After remaining on site for two days to install the gym, it opened for use on October 5.

"If you are new to something like this, instructions are available on each piece of equipment," added the clerk.

"The parish council is delighted with the response that we have had to the facility and hope that it will be very well used by residents.

"It is free to use, available during daylight hours, welcomes anyone who would like to use it, and will hopefully be the start of other exciting equipment introduced onto the Abbey field."