BROKEN play equipment in a much-loved park is still awaiting repair.

But council officers say that the adventurous kit could be back open within a matter of days.

A roundabout and slides at the children’s play park in Lydiard Park have been out of action for much of the summer.

The council were forced to wait while parts for the top-of-the-range equipment were ordered from abroad.

In the interim, parts of the park have been roped off for safety reasons.

Last month, grandmother Margaret Austen, 66, hit out at the council after her grandchildren were left “disappointed” by the park visit.

She said: “We found that the play park had got two main slides roped off because of damage and the roundabout has been screwed down. It’s scandalous that the park is in that state. This is the beginning of the school holidays.”

Last week, Nancy Turner posted on Facebook: “I have never seen so much broken equipment in the Lydiard park.”

A spokesman for Swindon Borough Council, which manages the park, said: “The play park at Lydiard has proved to be as popular as ever over the summer, as the vast majority of equipment has been available for young people to enjoy.

“We have been informed by our supplier that we should receive the new parts to repair the two slides and roundabout in the coming days. We will fix the worn-out equipment as soon as the new parts arrive.”

Some have questioned why the equipment had to be ordered from overseas. Richard Howroyd posted in the West Swindon group: “Interesting the equipment comes from abroad. There are a lot of UK play equipment providers.”

Iris Keeble asked: “Why do we buy from abroad in the first place and not consider the time and cost of ordering their spare parts?”