Families turned out in droves to mark the official opening of a new children's centre in Oxford.

Mums watched as a parade of toddlers sang and danced their way from the Marston Medical Centre in Cherwell Drive to Copse Lane for the official opening of Marston Northway Children's Centre on Thursday.

Centre manager Shilpa Bhatt said the new facility was designed to be a place of fun, where mums and dads could get as much from it as their children. She said the event — which attracted about 150 people — had been designed as a way of letting the community know the centre was up and running.

Ms Bhatt added: "We have been providing services in this community since last year.

"We didn't have a base though and all that time we were telling people about this centre and now it is finally here. We have had more than 100 people register with us, which is great."

Ms Bhatt said the centre allows parents and children to have fun and learn at the same time.

On Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays it will operate as a children's centre, with the other days being dedicated to running adult learning courses.

She said: "We will offer a one-stop shop for parents who have very young children. It is a place where parents can come and not only enjoy being with their children, but gain something for themselves too."

The centre opened in June but the opening ceremony only took place this week as centre managers wanted to highlight the scheme's success.

Children at the event got their faces painted and played on a giant bouncy castle and some mums were pampered by students from Abingdon and Witney College's beauty therapy course.

Shannon Page, 21, has been a regular at the centre with her daughter Freya since it opened. She said: "It's great because it gives me somewhere else to go and I can do something constructive with my time."