Mansfield Lawn Tennis Club has gifted 150 tennis balls to children at Mapplewells Primary and Nursery School, Sutton.

Tom Darby, PE specialist at the school, explained: “Because of coronavirus we needed to make sure children had their own equipment to avoid any risk of spreading the infection and so we came up with the idea of asking for help from local clubs.

“This donation has enabled pupils to develop skills such as throwing and catching, and Year 6 have been able to deliver hockey at lunchtimes through our eight sports leaders. Our Year 5 have also created mini games to improve their leadership skills based around racket skills, throwing and catching, as well as throwing at a target.”

The tennis club’s secretary, Simon Ramsey, added: “We ask members to put their old tennis balls in the recycle bin in the clubhouse so I knew we had the stock.

“Normally the club raises a small amount toward club funds by recycling them, but the rest of the club’s management group agreed that reusing the balls to encourage youngsters to play sport and maybe even take up tennis was a much better option.”