Residents gathered to celebrate the opening of an extension to their village hall at the weekend that will help double the capacity of a local playgroup.

Funds from a new housing development in Mulbarton helped pay for the Jubilee Room at the village hall, which will be used by Puddleducks Playgroup.

The group, which was founded 20 years ago, now has capacity to care for twice the number of two to four-year-olds in the growing village.

The �200,000 extension of the hall was funded by �120,000 of S106 developer contributions, funds from Mulbarton Parish Council, �2,000 from South Norfolk Council and the fundraising efforts of the playgroup, which had been based at the nearby scout hut.

Villagers marked the official opening of the Jubilee Room with a fun day on Saturday. However, volunteers and the committee at Puddleducks will continue to fundraise to create a new eco-garden in the grounds of the hall.

Jo MacGibbon, vice-chairman of Puddleducks, said a 'phenomenal' amount of hard work and volunteers' effort had gone into the expansion project.

Peter Leigh, chairman of the parish council, said Mulbarton had a lot of community groups and there was a constant demand for facilities in the village, which has grown from a population of 1,000 to 2,000 over the last 15 years.