Families in Barton Hill and The Dings enjoyed an afternoon of entertainment when they celebrated a decade of improvements to their community.

Hundreds turned out for the first of two parties organised to mark the imminent end of a £50 million regeneration project.

Under the New Deal for Communities programme launched in 2000 by the Government, the money was allocated to the area, as well as parts of Redfield and Lawrence Hill, to be spent on a wide range of schemes.

They covered the arts, community development, crime, housing and education, all aimed at making the locality a better place to live.

The parties were organised so everyone could celebrate what had been achieved and look forward to future plans as Community at Heart, the resident-led group set up to oversee the programme, is continuing despite the funding coming to an end.

Its spokeswoman, Stacy Yelland, said: "We will have a small team to carry on working with residents to ensure the area keeps on improving.

"We wanted to remind people what has been achieved as it's easy to forget what an area used to be like.

"There are still problems but the severity of them has changed. People are now more worried about dog fouling and flytipping, when before it was drug dealing, burglary, muggings and being afraid to go out at night."

Sian Delahaye, 48, a resident board member of Community at Heart for nine years and resident of Mildred Street, Redfield, said: "I am a firm believer that if you want things to improve you actually have to get involved, do it and make your voice heard.

"We have now got some nice green spaces and some nice buildings and the whole area looks better than it was.

"There has also been an improvement in community safety."

The first party was held in The Dings Park, St Philip's, and was enjoyed by crowds of residents.

Next Saturday the celebrations will move to The Urban Park in Barton Hill and will run from noon to 6pm.