FORMER Olympic athlete Mark Proctor opened a new £140,000 sports complex in a north Suffolk village yesterday.Mr Proctor, a shot putter, was delighted to open the new facility at his home village of Wenhaston, near Halesworth.

FORMER Olympic athlete Mark Proctor opened a new £140,000 sports complex in a north Suffolk village yesterday.

Mr Proctor, a shot putter, was delighted to open the new facility at his home village of Wenhaston, near Halesworth.

"This is a superb complex that would grace any town or city and everyone in Wenhaston should be congratulated on working so hard to have something like this in Wenhaston," he said.

He hoped that the new facilities would encourage more people living in the Wenhaston area to get involved with sport.

The complex consists of a skateboard park, a multi-purpose floodlit court suitable for tennis, basketball and five-a-side football, and a dedicated tennis court.

The project received a grant of more than £90,000 from the National Lottery Sport England fund and was also given a sizeable contribution from the pools promoters through the Foundation for the Sports and Arts.

Villagers also helped raise many thousands of pounds towards the project.

"This is a great day of celebration after all the hard work that has gone in over many years," said Barney Dickson, project co-ordinator for Wenhaston Sports Club.

"We hope that such a wonderful facility will not only give a boost to the sports club but become a focus for people living in other villages in the area," said Mr Dickson.

Villagers held a party to celebrate the occasion and there were also skateboarding demonstrations by local youngsters.