A village playgroup has celebrated half a century at the heart of the community.

South Cerney Playgroup has been operating for 50 years this year, having been established in 1969.

A celebration event took place on Saturday in the playgroup gardens, next to Ann Edwards CE Primary School in Berkeley Close.

Playgroup chair, Claire Ryall said: “The playgroup is such an important part of our village and has benefitted so many children, so we are very pleased to be celebrating this important milestone.

"It was a fantastic afternoon with a great turnout of people to celebrate, including staff and committee members who had been involved over the years, as well as lots of our past and current families.

"We had lots of old scrapbooks and photo albums on display so it was lovely to look through these.

"We had a bouncy castle and a children's entertainer who kept the children mesmerised with a magic show, music and bubbles.

"We had a celebration cake and the children sang 'Happy Birthday to Playgroup' and then Mrs Chapman, who was a play leader when the playgroup originally started, cut the cake."

The playgroup, a charity, has run from various locations in the village but for the past 13 years has been in a purpose-built building next to Ann Edwards school.