RURAL hubs have turned into sporting venues as summer sports have taken off across South Cumbria.

Members of staff from North Country Leisure at Ulverston Leisure Centre have been heading out to local villages through the holidays.

Broughton, Allithwaite and Coniston have all been visited over the course of the past few weeks, with a whole range of sports on offer.

Using both indoor and – when the sun shone – outdoor facilities, children have been able to enjoy themselves at football, dodgeball, basketball and cricket among other disciplines.

Hannah Paling, who helped organise the days, was pleased to see old and new faces alike enjoying the activities in Broughton with helpers Joanna Yates and Heather Watts.

She said: “We used to just go up for two hours, but because there are more weeks in the summer holidays, we broadened it to four hours and cover more of a whole day and it seemed to work.

“Numbers were higher than ever and it made it more worthwhile to go along with the number of sports we could do.

“We used the Victory Hall and the playing fields as well. Especially when it's nice, you want to get out and running around for the kids.

“They always enjoy it and they always come back – you could always list about 10 who will come back next time. They look out for it and, if they know they like it, they'll come back to do it again.”