For the children of Wandsworth, the age of innocence ends this autumn when their council puts a price tag on playtime.
To help fund ?55m worth of budget cuts, councillors in the south London borough have decided to charge children ?2.50 to use the local playground.
The Tory-run council will pilot the charge at weekends from October at an adventure playground in Battersea Park.
Labour politicians have described the charges as "unbelievably mean-spirited" and an attempt to turn play areas into no-go areas for the poor. An e-petition lodged on the council's website had gathered 154 signatories by Thursday.
The council said the park was "more than just swings and roundabouts" and that because the adventure area contained zip wires and 40ft structures, there were added health and safety staffing costs that needed to be recouped in difficult economic circumstances.
The council also said the charge was being introduced to provide the "best value for money" for local taxpayers.
What?s happening to our country, where is our tax money spent and when I hear our council targeting the young ones to extra money it?s really diabolical and the wages we have to pay for some one taking this children money for playing in the park just does not make any sense to me. Just imagine a child of mine asking for entry fee money to go and play in the park I will definitely tell him to play in the garden instead.
@ Shady, you are a lunatic mate. 
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