A hi-tech playground in Valentines Park has been officially opened after being delayed by over-runnning work.

The new area for under eights has climbing frames, swings and toys decorated with paintings by a local artist depicting the park’s history and wildlife.

Parents can also play on the equipment – using their smartphones.

Codes on the side of the toys open up online games as well as websites about the history of the park and children’s events.

The deputy mayor of Redbridge, Cllr Tania Solomon, cut the ribbon at the park, in Emerson Road, Ilford, on Thursday.

And she could not resist having a go on the swings.

She said: “Everything just screams ‘come play on me’. When I cut the ribbon there were already children there and you should have seen them run.

“It’s brilliant.”

The council decided to upgrade the park earlier this year because equipment dating back 30 years was “coming to the end of its life”.

Safety concerns had been raised after a three-year-old girl broke her wrist falling from a slide in August.