FREERUNNING is coming to Chatteris – and there’s an open day next week to give people the chance to try it out.

A new �42,000 play area is opening at Wenny Road recreation ground next Friday (August 17).

Professional trainers will be on hand from 10am-2.30pm to show people how to make the most of it.

The site, which has been funded by Fenland District Council, is the first of its kind in Fenland.

Freerunning is seen as perfect exercise for those who may not be interested in conventional competitive sports. Its aim is to travel from one point to another, negotiating obstacles along the route as efficiently and nimbly as possible.

The equipment is designed to encourage young people to develop a wide range of skills such as vaulting, balancing, under-bar and over-bar movements and cat leaps.

Some of the moves are often seen in action films such as the opening sequence in the recent James Bond film Casino Royale. They have been copied by people jumping from one obstacle to another – something that has given freerunning a bad name. The equipment at Wenny Road allows users to practise similar moves in a much safer environment.

The equipment includes a spider cage, climbing wall, gibbon swing, precision bars, vault box and vault balls, all surrounded by rubber surfacing.

Councillor Peter Murphy, FDC’s portfolio holder responsible for parks and open spaces, said: “This is the safe way to do freerunning and it’s a really fantastic facility. So come along next Friday and try it out with the help of the experts who’ll be there to give some tuition.”

• For more information, including tutorials on how to use the equipment, search ‘Lappset Parkour Solutions’ on YouTube and Facebook.