AN UNDERTAKER with a heart for his hometown has spent almost three years developing a park that is bringing joy to dozens of children.

Wesley Weibrecht has become something of a community hero in Prestolee, where he lives with wife Rachael and their five-year-old son Dillan.

Appalled at the state of the nearby park which is continually being vandalised, and frustrated that his son had nowhere to play, Mr Weibrecht decided to build his own adventure playground.

The 38-year-old, who works for Lilleywhite Funeral Service in Prestwich, said: “The local park had been that badly vandalised you couldn’t use it. It’s still that way today — four years later.

“Two and a half years ago, I put up a rope swing near my house so I could use it with my son. Our project went from there.”

A Bolton Council spokeswoman said of the park which is accessed via Alexandra Road and Church Road: “The site has unfortunately been the subject of repeated vandalism and we have done the best we could with the resources available."

Originally overgrown with brambles and nettles, the new transformed green space is used by dozens of families from the Prestolee and Stoneclough areas.

Mr Weibrecht has dug out a path, fashioned a maze, created a photo frame from a wooden planter, and built a two-storey treehouse, complete with a slide — even adding a seesaw at the request of visiting children. Other local people have donated logs, tyres and pallets.

“We even have a boat, a large climbing frame and a train donated”, Mr Weibrecht said. The park also features stepping stones, a bug hotel, fencing, flower beds, a strawberry picking raised bed, and its own Prestolee sign, which was funded through businesses and residents sponsoring letters.

Sadly the new park has also been targeted, with flowers being thrown into the river, trees pulled up, climbing frames smashed, a bench and hanging baskets stolen, and a homemade tepee set on fire.

Mr Weibrecht said the vandalism has had a “big impact” but he has continued to replace and repair the damage.

He said: “The upkeep of this project is ongoing. It has been incredibly hard work. All the way through this project I thought it was going to be beat me. But me and my wife won.

“The park is used all the time by children. The local nursery have even brought children there and the local school have planted flowers and held litter picks.

“I will always help people no matter what. I like to keep busy and I love seeing all the kids playing.

“I think it is my job which has made me like this. I see on a daily basis that life is too short.”