Children lose swings after EU ruling

A Parish council has been forced to close its playground swings because a European Union rule says they are 60cm too high.

Although the seats are the correct height off the ground, the swings exceed the maximum height set by Brussels bureaucrats.

European Standard BS EN 11 76 states that swings should be no more than three metres high. Failing to comply with the ruling would leave the council open to legal action if a child were hurt.

The swings in Great Somerford, Wiltshire, have been open for 25 years and are used by hundreds of children a year, none of whom has ever been hurt.

Parish council chairman Toby Sturgis said today they would have to raise £2,500 to replace them. He said: "The ruling has come as a bombshell."