Council killjoys order kind-hearted gran to pull down estate kids' trampoline

A GRANDMOTHER has told of her shock and disappointment after a council ordered her to remove a trampoline she had bought for the children on her estate to enjoy.

- By Richard Ashmore

Lorraine Roberts, 67, put the play equipment on a disused council-owned common area in February.

But after scores of kids enjoyed bouncing around on it for months, Lorraine was stunned when the local authority told her she must dismantle it “in 24 hours” following a complaint from an unknown resident.

Labour-run Southampton City Council also said that while it understood “the importance of outdoor play” it deemed the trampoline a “significant health and safety risk”.

Lorraine, who has 10 grandchildren, said: “Everybody loved it. Kids were on it all day, every day. It keeps them off their iPads and PlayStations.