WHAT to adults may look like piles of unwanted scrap ranging from crates and cardboard to old tyres and broken computer keyboards has transformed playtimes at Minehead’s St Michael’s First School.

Nicknamed “junk in the shed”, West Somerset’s first Scrapstore Play Pod, the brainchild of a Bristol charity, gives youngsters free rein to use their imagination to create anything from a make-believe space-rocket, to a train made of old suitcases!

“The children absolutely love it and are fascinated by all the stuff and the games and activities it makes possible,” said the school’s head teacher Janine Donovan.

“Playground behaviour has immensely improved and using the items in endless different ways stimulates the children’s creativity and imagination.”

The school’s 150 pupils, aged from four to nine, cannot wait to use the Play Pod every lunch and playtime.

“We have already seen some wonderful results, particularly with youngsters who have learning difficulties,” Miss Donovan said.

“Just playing in this unstructured way has an effect on everything from tidying up afterwards to respecting the environment.”

The Play Pod, which opened last week, and was blessed by the Rev Simon Robinson, vicar of St Michael’s, will need to be regularly topped up with scrap.

So Miss Donovan is appealing to local shops and businesses to donate any material which would otherwise go to the tip.

“We welcome anything, from cardboard boxes and tubes to clothes, carpets, lengths of material, ropes, nets and tyres, but nothing with sharp edges.”

Play Pods, which are kept in a specially designed wooden shed, are now installed in over 300 first schools. St Michael’s is the first in West Somerset.

The charity claims that they have transformed lunchtime play, cut down playground incidents and accidents and return children to their classes ready to learn.

Anyone who can donate scrap materials to the project can contact Janine Donovan on 01643 702759.