Weybridge Vandals netball section welcomed midweek junior netball onto the Island for the first time earlier this month.

Until the completion of the £250,000 project to build three floodlit MUGA courts at Brownacres, the club's vast junior ranks had trained and played fixtures at venues elsewhere.

But the opening of the brand new facility on September 27 along with the finishing touches finally being applied to the floodlighting, means the whole section can now play on home soil.

Parents accustomed to standing courtside for midweek matches at Charters School in Ascot and for training night at Sir Williams Perkins's School, Chertsey, and St George's College in Weybridge, will be familiar with the lack of shelter on offer.

But with Vandals clubhouse bar open for business on Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 6pm, toilets available and FREE wifi to boot, mums and dads will no longer need to battle the elements and can instead make the most of their time in comfortable surroundings.

Members from all sections are encouraged to use the facilities when they are on Desborough Island midweek, with the bar only likely to remain open for as long as demand justifies the investment in staffing costs.

New era: Dignitaries, including Weybridge Vandals club president Kevin Keaney, netball club captain Ellie Bicknell, Mayor of Elmbridge Councillor Judy Sarsby and Dr Ben Spencer MP, officially opened the new MUGA courts on September 27