FORMER Everton and Scotland defender David Weir was on hand on Sunday to officially open a new outdoor gym in a Lymm park.

Nine pieces of equipment has been installed in Ridgway Grundy Park thanks to funding from a variety of organisations and groups.

Weir, who lives in Lymm, played 69 times for Scotland and also appears for Rangers during his professional career.

He said: "I have used this park for 20 years and my son used the equipment yesterday.

"I am a firm believer that a healthy body leads to a healthy mind. I hope the equipment is put to good use.”

Lymm Parish Council chairman, Cllr Anna Fradgley, welcomed guests to the opening ceremony and invited Denis McAllister whose idea it was, to talk about the background to the project.

Denis said: “A few years ago when on holiday I used a fitness area in a nearby wood and I thought we should have something similar in Lymm.

"I approached the parish council for support and a small team was set up to investigate the idea and look at possible locations.

"It is well established that exercise is beneficial to both physical and mental health.

"Most of the funding came from WREN, a not-for-profit organisation whose source of money is landfill tax.”

Richard Smith from WREN was unable to be present.

However he said: “It’s wonderful to see something we have funded finally open and ready to make such a difference to the park users across Lymm.

"Outdoor gyms are a great way to promote fitness in a fun and safe environment and are growing in popularity throughout the UK.

"This is a great example of what can be achieved when a driven community group works with the local authority and funders to create a new facility.”

Collr Ian Marks who worked with Denis on the project added, “We are very grateful for the additional funding support from Lymm Round Table, the Parish Council, Active Cheshire and crowd-funders.

"We are also grateful for the letters of support from various local sporting organisations and the two Doctors’ surgeries and for those people who gave a positive response to our public consultation survey.

"Lastly I would like to thank Warrington Borough Council for filling in the Wren grant application form and for managing the installation for us.”