Kingsbridge Hockey Club have come to the rescue of women who had been dropping out because there were no childcare facilities during match times.

A new creche is now running between 10am and 1pm.

The team carried out a survey of the squad in September and found, of thirteen responses, nine said childcare was either the main thing stopping them playing or would make a real difference.

Between them they have thirteen children, nine of them under five.

According to the team, it's a bigger problem there than in most places.

There's no casual childcare to fall back on, and many players are married into or work in farming, where Saturdays are anyone's guess.

Sponsorship Manager, Natalie Lake, said: "Getting back into sport after having children is really hard.

“I got chatting to a mum at a preschool club who'd ended up building a gym at home just so she could still work out.

“Not every parent can do that, so I wanted to give every parent the chance to get out and move.”

Active Devon reports that, in the South Hams, women are seven per cent less likely to be active than men, and children and young people are around eight per cent less likely to be active than the Devon average.

Natalie continued: “It matters for mental health.

“For an hour, or three, you're not a parent, taxi driver, cleaner, chef or workerbee.

“You're just you and everything will still be there when you get back, but you'll have more to give.

“We pour out all week and rarely get to refill.

“It started with the hockey mums, but it's for everyone.”

The sessions are funded by Mendax Ltd with a contribution from Mount Kelly and from Cllr Dennis's locality budget, and they have a further application in with South Hams District Council.

For more details visit: https://www.kshockeyclub.com/