HUNDREDS of pounds worth of toys and games were donated to the new Penhill Youth Club today.

First Great Western Railway donated £250 of goods to the club at the Chippenham Close Community Centre.

The gifts included a Wii console and seven games, colouring books, children’s books, and a car playmat as well as teabags, sugar and cleaning materials for the hall itself.

The new club – which at first will only open on Monday evenings from June 24 – has been organised by the Penhill Community Association and will cater for 10 to 18-year-olds in the area.

PCA secretary Clare Foreman was delighted to receive the donations. The mother-of-two said: “It’s fantastic, I love it.

“I live in the same street and you see so many kids with nothing to do.

“Now they can come in, play on the Wii, play table tennis, anything.”

First Great Western donated the gifts after hearing about the project from North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson.

Jane Jones, the external relations manager for First Great Western said: “We do a lot of support in the community along the route and see ourselves as more than just the railway. When Justin gave us a call about this project we were more than happy to agree to help out.”

Mr Tomlinson,who visited the community centre in February, was so impressed with the work residents and the PCA had done to restore the centre he wanted to help the PCA with the youth club and so asked First Great Western if it could provide any help.

He said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have been able to support this fantastic community centre.

“Through the exceptional hard work of the volunteers, has become a hub of activity for local residents and the exciting plans for the youth club will make a real difference to the community.”

Oliver Santos, seven, who attends Ruskin Junior School, is one of the youngsters who will be able to use the youth club in the future.

“I’m really looking forward to playing with the toys, and playing Mario Kart on the Wii,” he said.

Jessica Larby, 20, Thomas Edmunds, 18, and Wendy French, 42, are PCA committee members who have helped to bring the plans for the youth club to fruition.

Wendy said: “It gets the kids down here and off the street, it keeps them out of trouble and their parents know where they are.”

Since last summer, the new committee of the PCA has been working hard with the help of Penhill residents to transform the disused Community Centre.