MORE than two years of hard work have come to fruition with the opening of Dringhouses Primary School's new library.

York children's author Tim Hopgood cut the ribbon in front of pupils, staff, parents and members of the local community.

Head teacher Gill Williams said: "The school didn't have a library when I arrived and I'm into my third year now.

"We've spent the last couple of years trying to put one in place. We have had incredible support from the community."

Parents were given an online Wishlist they could contribute to and donations of books and money kept on coming.

Mrs Williams added: "Originally our aim was for 1,000 books, but now we have over 3,500. We have also had quite a lot of support from the local authority. We had to create a library from a classroom - that was part of the work we did during the summer.

"It's a been a long time. This is really a celebration of the changes the school has gone through.

"I'm quite passionate about the fact that every school needs a good library and it should be a key part of the school."

Mrs Williams also paid tribute to teaching assistant Clare Raley, who spent much of last summer cataloguing books.

"Clare has been the real force behind the library," she said.