Shielding families enjoy fun evening out at 4 Kingdoms Adventure Park in North Hampshire

"I think the biggest thing for the parents was being able to see the kids playing again"

FORTY shielding families enjoyed an evening out at 4 Kingdoms Adventure Park at the weekend.

In order to treat vulnerable children who haven’t been able to go out because of the coronavirus pandemic, owner Darren Lamb arranged the event for Saturday and Sunday evenings – with 20 families attending each day to have one family at a time on each activity.

Saturday evening was dedicated to children suffering from leukaemia, while Sunday was for children with a range of illnesses.

Mr Lamb, who set up the attraction seven years ago, said it had been brilliant to see the children and families playing and being able to relax.

He said: “Some of the kids were a little bit overwhelmed when they first arrived, but kids being kids are straight at it when they have an opportunity to play.

“There were only 20 families so they didn’t have to worry about other families as there was so much space, so there wasn’t any stress or strain and they could get on and play without any worries.

“I think the biggest thing for the parents was being able to see the kids playing again.

“We’ve had a fair bit of that over the summer following lockdown, but this takes it to a different level.

“They’ve had five or six months without going anywhere when everyone else is out doing things, so just being able to have quality family time with their kids being kids rather than stuck at home is massive.”

Mr Lamb organised the event after talking to a customer who had initially been shielding and had been apprehensive about coming as they didn’t know how busy it would be.

He said: “I thought there had to be loads of kids out there who were really missing out.

“I’ve got a five-year-old and he’s been in lockdown for four or five months, but has this park to play on and he’s still struggled and wanted to see his friends and play.

“There are families that can’t get back to normal and can’t come on a normal day, so I thought let’s see if we can facilitate something.”