New sea-themed soft play centre to open in Amblecote

Little Lobsters is opening on Monday (June 27) at The Crystal Centre on Platts Road, catering for under fives.

Former teacher Michelle Hindle (pictured below) is opening the sea-themed centre after deciding she wanted a change of direction.

The married mum-of-one said: "It's a change of career for me.

"I have been a teacher for ten years and want to provide a safe space for parents with small children to come to.

"A lot of soft play centres in the area are busy so I saw a gap in the market and thought I would go for it.

"It's been quite an adventure."

The 34-year-old, who has a five-year-old daughter, used to teach at Summerhill Primary in Tipton.

She spent three months transforming the former bathroom shop with the work a real family affair as a string of family members helped out.

The centre has a range of areas for role play including a play kitchen and a construction area. Each session ends with a story time and there are also craft sessions.

It also boasts a cafe selling drinks, sandwiches, jacket potatoes, paninis and cakes.

Michelle said: "The one thing people said was make sure you serve good coffee, so I have been on a barista training course.

"All the children who have been in to try the soft play have said it's fantastic."

The centre, which will also host parties, will be officially opened on Sunday (June 26) by councillor Shaz Saleem and will open to the public on Monday June 27 at 9am with the last session at 4pm each day.

A one-and-a-half hour session costs £4.50 with siblings extra.

Visit the website at https://littlelobsters.co.uk/