A founder of a Gloucestershire playgroup which is still going strong 40 years later dropped in to meet her granddaughter.

Generations of children in and around Tibberton have gone through the village playgroup, and it was all started by farmer's wife Jennifer Tydeman and fellow mum Jenny Bond in May 1969.

On Tuesday, Mrs Tydeman visited Tibberton & Taynton Under Fives and was welcomed by her three-year-old granddaughter Chloe, before a tree-planting ceremony.

On Friday, the group is holding a celebration party with family disco from 6pm to 8pm at Tibberton Primary School to mark its 40th anniversary.

"Lots of playgroups were starting up and the village was growing with Orchard Rise, so we decided to do our own," remembered Mrs Tydeman, who brought up four children with husband Leslie at their farm in Tibberton.

They had to start from scratch, with a handful of children.

"We used the church room but it needed to be plumbed in, and Les, Lawrence Davis and Tony Haines dug out trenches for the pipes to be laid," she said.

And she had to endure visits from a county council inspector, who wanted to ensure everything was just so.

"We had a slide in the room and she was quite strict, and she asked why we needed it," said Mrs Tydeman. "They were all country children and they had not been to places like parks and played on slides.

"It was the one thing that got them through the door."

The group now has purpose-built premises at Tibberton Primary School.

A mother and toddler group continues to meet at the church room once a week.

The group moved to the school site in Orchard Rise in 2003 and it benefits from a garden and covered outdoor area.

Anyone with a connection to the playgroup is welcome to come along to the celebration on Friday. Call 01452 790 171 for more details.