Children want to be wrapped less in cotton wool and take “more risks” when playing in Watford, according to a review into the town's play services.

An independent review of playgrounds and other facilities, conducted by the Play Doctors, was welcomed by Watford Borough Council's Cabinet last night (Monday).

And Mayor Dorothy Thornhill said it was clear from responses children gave that they wanted “more risk”.

“Children want to do the things I did when I was young and it's interesting they want to be able to do these risky things and that came out quite noticeably,” she said.

“Parents were very frank about what they value and what they didn't value and that's really helped us in a constructive way. The message is we're looking at a new shape of play services around the adventure playgrounds. That will become the hub and we will be looking to continue things that have high value.”

However, the Mayor added it would be “foolish” to guarantee the future of the popular Play Ranger service, which was originally provided through a £250,000, three year lottery grant.

She said: “What we will be doing is looking at the skills of staff so at certain times, the adventure playground staff can do a Play Ranger type of service.”

Gary Oliver, head of community services, sport and art, praised staff for adopting new initiatives during the review, as a result of feedback from parents and children.

He said: “A lot of people were involved – 1,300 people were consulted, 83 per cent were children and young people.

“Staff during the review made quite a number of 'quick wins', despite difficult circumstances, they battled on and that's to be recognised. The staff did extremely well.

“With the current financial situation, all services need to be reviewed to ensure they provide value for money and the future level of service needs to be judged against demand.”

The council is now expected to make decisions of the future of its play service following the Government's spending review announced later this month.