CHILDREN and their families were joined by a number of guests at East Ayrshire’s annual Playday to swell the attendance to almost 12,000.

Among those joining the young people was Ballochmyle councillor Claire Leitch, in her dual role as depute provost and Children’s Champion.

Many of her constituents and their youngsters were there and Ms Leitch enjoyed taking part in the fun and games with them, as did a fellow councillor.

Jim McMahon, who represents Cumnock and New Cumnock, really let his hair down — commandeering the foam slide to the delight of the children.

This year’s event was the 30th anniversary of national Playday and Kay Park in Kilmarnock was transformed to provide a fitting setting to mark the celebration.

The vast and diverse activities and games on offer ranged from the popular mud slide, bouncy castles and lots of games to try.

With even more activities, such as fun-filled creative face paints, arts and crafts, this turned out to be an amazing day for all those involved, including Ms Leitch.

She said: “I had a brilliant time at Playday. Events such as this very clearly display how East Ayrshire Vibrant Communities are leading the way in play and interaction for our young people and also how it recognises that play is a vital part of young people’s development.

“Not only did so many people turn out, it was wonderful to see such a diverse range of people from all walks of life coming together to share this day.

“As well as depute provost, I also have the pleasure of being Champion for Children and seeing all the singers and other performances really makes me feel proud of our young ones.

“Their displays at the Playday truly showcased some of the incredible young talent we have right here in East Ayrshire.”

Along with many of the fun activities at Playday, a number of organisations such as the police, fire department and local sports clubs all came together to make the day such a resounding success.

From rugby and football to owls, yoga and canoeing, the groups provided the children with so many opportunities for enjoyment and learning.

Playday was organised by East Ayrshire Council’s Vibrant Communities Play and Early Intervention Team to give children free access to a wide variety of exciting, adventurous, very creative and engaging activities and physical games.