MORE than 1,000 angry parents have signed petitions calling for Scottish Borders Council to reverse its plans to strip equipment from small playparks in the area.

The local authority announced earlier this year that it wanted to decommission 74 playparks to help pay for the upkeep of new larger facilities.

Several communities, such as Hawick, Galashiels, Kelso and Harestanes, have benefitted from new playparks as part of a £5 million Play Facilities Strategy.

And many more towns and villages are in line for further investment over the coming two or three years.

But the closing of smaller parks has infuriated many.

On Thursday members of Scottish Borders Council's Audit and Scrutiny Committee will consider two separate petitions calling for a rethink.

A total of 492 signatures were collected by parents in Kelso, where nine of the town's smaller playparks are under threat.

And a further 581 signatures have been collected in Hawick, where 10 small playparks are to be decommissioned.

In a report being presented to the Audit and Scrutiny Committee, chief officer Jason Hedley said: "As no additional revenue resources are being provided to support the long term management and maintenance of the new play parks being created, the removal of obsolete facilities is essential to ensure there is a cost neutral impact on established budgets with the service."