A village near Attleborough is celebrating after receiving almost �50,000 for playing field improvements from a pot of Olympic legacy funding.

Rocklands Playing Field has been awarded �47,927 from Sport England's Protecting Playing Fields fund to expand its facilities off Green Lane in Rockland All Saints.

The National Lottery funding will be used to develop recently acquired land beside the existing playing field for additional football pitches, cricket nets and an artificial cricket pitch.

The Norfolk project is among 61 sports clubs and community groups across England to benefit from over �2m of funding in the second round of Protecting Playing Fields that aims to deliver a Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy to communities all over the country

Alan Fisher, secretary of Rocklands Playing Field said: 'This grant funding is absolutely tremendous news for the development of our playing field. It will provide urgently needed playing space for our user clubs and allow them to expand and attract new members.'

The site is set to become a Queen Elizabeth II Field after Rocklands Parish Council agreed to dedicate the playing field in perpetuity. This is thanks to a partnership with Fields in Trust (FIT) which is running the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge as part of the programme to mark the Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympics.

The announcement was welcomed by Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman, who said: 'Unless people in Norfolk are lucky enough to have tickets to London 2012 events this summer, they may feel rather remote from the Olympic and Paralympic Games. But this lottery funding will bring a lasting memory of the Games right here in Attleborough. Competitive sports are so valuable - they teach us life skills and bring communities together. This is a fantastic opportunity for Rocklands Playing Field and all those who enjoy the facilities here.'

Hundreds more playing fields are set to benefit from a further �6 million over the three remaining rounds of Protecting Playing Fields. The third round will open for bids in early summer.