A community clubbed together to create a woodland haven with £9,000 worth of work.

Greenfields Community Housing funded the transformation to the Spinney, off Park Drive on the Goldingham Estate, and groups including the Scouts pitched in to help.

They put in a log path lined with woodchips, planted 3,000 bulbs, cleared foliage from footpaths and tended to the trees.

The fourth Braintree Scout Group also made bird and bat boxes to entice more wildlife to the woods.

A family Easter Extravaganza on April 2 will celebrate the improvements with an Easter egg hunt, an Easter bonnet competition, a bug hunt and a drawing competition at the Spinney.

A community clean-up day will also be held on March 27 to prepare.

Over the past year, Greenfields has been transforming six areas in the district, with the help of local residents and organisations.

Sherri Beresford, the Greenfields neighbourhood co-ordinator who led the project, said: "I am so grateful to everyone who helped to make the transformation happen – ranging from those who live in the area, to the Braintree Scout Group and The Wilderness Foundation.

"We truly hope that the improvements increase residents’ pride in the area and encourage them to take more of an interest in wildlife and gardening."