A DAYCARE centre that has helped hundreds of vulnerable children and families is celebrating 25 years of aid to the local community with a free fun day, starting at 2pm on Saturday.

The Donnington Doorstep family drop-in centre in Townsend Square, East Oxford, has been a silver lining to scores of parents over the years and is now set to celebrate its silver anniversary with live music, a silver-themed parade and a visit by the Lord Mayor of Oxford, Mary Clarkson.

The free drop-in centre helps almost 2,000 children and adults a year, with an average of 85 visitors using the centre every day.

Organisers expect hundreds of families to turn up to its family fun day which will include dancing lessons; singing; face painting; circus skills; a barbecue; bingo; arts and crafts and games of pool.

Centre manager Anna Thorne said: “This is not just our birthday party; it is a party for the whole local community – so we want as many people to come along and have fun as possible.

“Donnington Doorstep is very much a haven for an awful lot of people, especially those with young children and teenagers in the area who have got their own space here and have really made it their own. I feel confident that we can go for another 25 years.”

The celebration comes just over a year after doubts surfaced about the future of the centre, when Oxford City Council’s then Liberal Democrat administration turned it down for funding.

After protests by centre managers and residents, Green and Labour councillors tabled a motion to secure £60,000 over the next three years.