Parents have banded together to push for improvements at a playground they have labelled as ‘not fit for purpose’.

Mums in Waltham Abbey say they are forced to take their children out of the town to use playgrounds because the one at Town Mead is in a bad state of repair and does not provide enough for them to do.

A petition they set up has gathered more than 200 signatures in three days.

Angie Schooling, 36, of Roundhills, Waltham Abbey, was one of a group of mothers who took their concerns to councillors at the town meeting on Thursday.

The childminder and mother-of-three said: “It’s falling down and not fit for purpose. Our newest generation is going to grow up to love or loathe this town and at the moment, we have to go outside the area to access play facilities.

“If the council invested in the Town Mead facilities, you would get families going there.”

The parents say half the children’s assault course at the park had been torn down recently for a fence to be put up and there was not enough for small children to do there.

Fellow childminder Wendy Craven, who has a seven-year-old daughter, said: “They’ve sliced the park in half – the trail leads to the fence then stops.

“I even go to Nazeing, which is a tiny park, but it has a climbing wall.”

Town councillor Antony Watts said: “We discussed this matter at the town council a month ago and the difficulty is money.

“We’d have to find something like £60,000 which is an awful lot.”

Town clerk Kathryn Richmond said the council had secured £15,000 for the park, but had been turned down for Lottery funding and was looking for alternatives.

She told the group of parents: “I agree with you totally. I am trying and I’ve got £15,000 earmarked for it.”

The parents have set up a petition to call for improvements, which has already been signed by 207 people since it was set up three days ago and can be found by clicking here.

They have also set up a Facebook group, Friends of Town Mead Play Area.