A NELSON headteacher has told of her excitement at the beginning of the biggest lottery primary school project in the county.

Work is due to begin on a £750,000 brand new two-tier sports hall at Marsden County Primary School.

The Bradshaw Street school received the go-ahead for the lottery grant 'Space for Sport and Arts' project 18 months ago.

And once the 380 school pupils, aged five to 11, return from the Christmas holidays, the builders will be moving onto the school site to make a dream come true.

The project is a joint effort between the school, Sport England, the lottery and Lancashire County Council.

The two-storey sports hall will be the size of two badminton courts and will have changing rooms, showers, toilets, a kitchen, offices, meeting room and viewing gallery.

It will be the culmination of a two-year goal for the school, which has also undergone substantial renovation through council funding.

Head Mrs Janet Taylor said: "We are desperate to start . We got the grant 18 months ago and it has taken so long because its a joint project.

"The school has been very involved in everything all the way along.

"It will turn out exactly how we want it because we have been involved in every bit of the planning.

"We have moved forward quite smoothly and are now we are very excited indeed."

The hall will initially be used just by the school but will eventually be used by the wider community as well.

The project is the biggest of its kind throughout all the primary schools in Lancashire and is the only one of its type in East Lancashire.

Last year the school, the numbers of which have halved in the past ten years, received £1million government money for a four-part major refurbishment.

This included improvements to the old junior buildings and the demolition of another building to make more room for a playground.