GLORIOUS sunshine and the promise of free rides at Manning's family fun centre saw children scramble to be among the first visitors to the Felixstowe attraction this year.

GLORIOUS sunshine and the promise of free rides at Manning's family fun centre saw children scramble to be among the first visitors to the Felixstowe attraction this year.

The centre opened its doors for the first time in 2003 at 11am today and a queue of children who had waited patiently for their chance to try out the rides rushed in.

The children, along with their parents, were treated to free rides between 11am and 1pm today as a special opening day offer.

Charles Mannings, whose family have run the centre since 1946, said the opening was a traditional event and had run for as long as he could remember.

"The children really seemed to enjoy it," he said. "We don't get as many children down here as we used to but the ones who do come always seem to enjoy themselves.

"A lot of the parents thank us very much for the free rides and seem to go away happy."

The centre, which includes slides, carousels, chair swings, a bouncy castle and many more fun attractions, is open for the entire Easter holiday. It will now remain open on each weekend until the summer holidays when the children break up from school.

Grandma Eileen Green, of Barham, joined her daughter Simone Howe and her two grandsons, Ryan, 4, and Liam, 2, in coming to Felixstowe to try out the rides. She said: "They love it and we are going to make the most of the free rides. We didn't come last year because we didn't know when it was opening but this year we made a mental note to make sure we got here."