Mrs Armitage, the Head of the Nursery, said she was surprised yet delighted with the award.

`This award is a tribute to my hard-working staff who, on an almost hourly basis, make sure the sandpit is free of such detritus as the children`s poo,urine and sick. Only yesterday, thirty minutes before the Inspectors unannounced arrival, Mrs Johnson and Mrs Hardcastle were cleaning up the blood after two of our little imps got into a spade fight as to who should have the magic castle plastic bucket.`

The Nursery achieved a ninety-eight percent rating, only dropping two percent when a black bogie was found stuck to the handle of a child`s sand rake.

Mrs Armitage said that she hoped the award would encourage more parents to send their children to the Nursery. `We have had a few lean years, especially after the unfortunate publicity surrounding our ex caretaker, Mr Booth, who incidentally still maintains he was only showing the children the basics of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.`

A spokesperson for the Council said he believed this was the first blue flag award for Northhamptonshire and hoped it would be the first of many. `Next year we hope the Inspectors will widen the award as the local hour-glass manufacturers are keen to try their luck.`