YOUR children are too fat, they don’t get enough exercise, they don’t play outside often enough!

How often have we been harangued like this about youngsters’ need for healthier lifestyles?

It is all very well medical experts and politicians lecturing folk about how to bring up their children.

But it is quite another thing when they approve of or stay silent about building on the very places where children are supposed to play.

The loss of a small but precious plot of land at Landale Drive, Warndon, Worcester, is a case in point.

Known locally as the ‘horseshoe’, it has been used informally as a playground for years. Families have also held community events such as jubilee parties there.

It has been earmarked for six affordable homes, but even Worcester city councillor Roger Berry – who has spent much of his political life fighting for social housing – recognises that the sacrifice being made for this housing is too high.

It is not just local politicians who are making it harder for children to find space to play and stay healthy.

The Government approved the sale of 50 playing fields between May 2010 and June 2013 (many, admittedly, at the instigation of the schools or local councils). Of those, 19 applications were approved by ministers after the London 2012 Olympics, which was meant to increase sports participation.

Such hypocrisy from many quarters.