PLAYTIME for children will become valuable study material for their carers, at a Malvern library.

The Borrowers Toy Library in Malvern has recently received a massive cash injection of £9,700 through the Early Years and Child Care Partnership and European Social Fund.

The library, which trains child carers how to use toys educationally, have used some of their money to buy a video camera.

Sue Hancox, project manager at The Borrowers Toy Library, explained that the camera would be taken to places such as pre-schools, after school clubs and play schemes to tape the children and the carers as they play with toys from the library.

"We will put the video camera in a particular setting and it will help people such as child carers with their training when we play the footage back," she said.

Mrs Hancox said she thought of the training scheme last July.

"Either myself or a member of staff go out and get involved with what the carers and children are doing," said Mrs Hancox.

"We stay with them throughout the session, then when they come back to us and use the toy again they know what they are doing."

Mrs Hancox said the video footage would be played back to children so they could get a sense of what they had achieved from the session.

The library, situated in Barnards Green, is run by volunteers of all ages, and two trained staff members.

It now has 5,000 toys including outdoor climbing frames, bikes, baby equipment and special needs toys.

Mrs Hancox said the grant would also be used for a washroom at the library.

"We will be able to wash the toys to the highest hygiene standards before they are lent out again.

"Although all of our toys are washed anyway, the growth of toys means that it is hard for us to keep up with washing them by hand."