An Ulverston-based playground equipment company is set to expand into Croatia.

Playdale was founded in 1978 and has built 26,000 play areas in the UK.

The company has a distributor network across 52 export markets including Sweden, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Spain, and Germany.

The company was founded by Jack and John Croasdale after the local parish asked for an upgrade to the communal playground equipment.

The company is now set to expand into Croatia after seeing huge demand for its equipment around Europe.

(Image: Supplied) Barry Leahey MBE, president of Playdale, said: "Children have a right to play all over the world, and no matter where you are, there will always be a demand for fun.

"What struck me as surprising is how easy it has been exporting, and the willingness of those abroad to do business with us, as it seems there is a real demand for high-quality British engineering and manufacturing.

"We’re thrilled to be adding Croatia to our list of export markets, and I would encourage others considering exporting to take the plunge and do it, not least because it is fun, but also because there is massive opportunity in Europe."

The company was part of the national campaign ‘Made in Cumbria, Sold to the World’ and was named one of the Department for Business and Trade's founding Export Champions.

The work Playdale has done was pointed to by the Cabinet Office as an example of best practice during Brexit.

Gareth Thomas, Minister for Exports, said: "It’s incredible to see Playdale’s success around the world and its continued expansion.

"The European market offers big demand for these skills and we’re encouraging all businesses to take advantage of that."

Playdale Playgrounds contributes to a total of £352.3bn in exports to the region from June 2023 to June 2024.