New play equipment was officially unveiled this week in North Walsham - made possible only because of a crisis which struck the town just over a year ago.

New play equipment was officially unveiled this week in North Walsham - made possible only because of a crisis which struck the town just over a year ago.

A 10-day health scare was prompted in the town and neighbouring communities such as Felmingham and White Horse Common last June when a water sample failed to reach normal safety standards amid fears the bug Cryptosporidium had entered the drinking supply.

People were told to boil their water before drinking it and many chose to buy bottled supplies during the scare.

Individuals and businesses were compensated with reduced bills, but the town was also handed £15,000 by Anglian Water bosses as an apology.

That money was used by the town council and the Griffon Area Partnership to access a grant of £30,000 from the East of England Development Agency's Action for Market Town's East programme.

The total of £45,000 has led to the new play equipment being installed in the town's Memorial Park.

Andrew Mackintosh, of Anglian Water, said: “The town has done an incredibly good job applying for and getting the funding on top of the money we gave.

“We are really pleased we have been able to work closely with the town council all the way through the incident and we are delighted they have managed to transform our gift into something so good for the town.”

North Walsham mayor Brian Wexler said: “The end result is very good.

“You have to give a balanced view and I think Anglian Water did a reasonable job in last year's emergency.

“We very much appreciate the new equipment.”