WE’VE done it! An appeal to raise £100,000 to build a new play area for disabled children has hit its target.

Donations and grants have flooded in for the 100,000 Smiles appeal, which has been supported by the Gazette.

Now the children at Lexden Springs special school, in Colchester, are looking forward to getting their own purpose- built play area.

Money has been raised through sponsored events, grants and donations – including two anonymous contributions totalling £32,000.

Charlotte Foxley, chairwoman of the Lexden Springs Appeal Fund, said: “We are excited to announce we have reached our target of £100,000 in less than a year.

“We were able to achieve our target thanks to a final donation of £22,000 from an anonymous private donor.

“We were so grateful to the individual for this donation and also to everyone in the community who contributed – children, friends and families associated with the school. We’d also like to thank those big-hearted members of the public who had seen our story in the Gazette and were moved to send us donations.

“We would also like send a huge thank you to the Gazette for supporting us in our campaign.

“Without the paper’s involvement and interest in our appeal, we wouldn’t have been able to reach out into the community. The articles have touched people who didn’t knowwe existed before.

“We are glad they now know about our school and our wonderful children.”

The school currently has only limited play equipment.

The 100,000 Smiles appeal was launched to pay for a new playground, which will be created on a small field at the school, in Halstead Road.

It will be fitted with specialised equipment which can be used by children with a range of disabilities, including those in wheelchairs.

For more on this story, see today's Gazette