The Department of Health is investing an extra £5m in getting children and families to exercise and play more sports.

Most of the funding will be divided between the Youth Sport Trust (£3m) and Play England (£1.1m) while the remaining £1m will be shared between eight cities to improve walking initiatives.

Youth Sport Trust will use the grant to set up new Change4Life School Sports Clubs in areas with the highest childhood obesity, extending the network of 8,000 clubs already established in the UK.

Play England will invest its £1.1m to help residents and encourage children and families to play together on their streets, reviving old favourites like hopscotch and hide-and-seek.

John Steele, chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust, said: "This new funding is a major boost and will help to build an even stronger network of school sport clubs across the country, offering young people the opportunity to try a range of new sports."

The £1m for walking initiatives has been made available to the eight cities which were awarded the Department for Transport Cycling Cities Ambition Grant earlier this week.

The grants announced this week are the latest part of the government's plans to increase investment in preventative healthcare.

Public Health Minister Anna Soubry said: "We want to do everything we can to help people lead longer, healthier lives, which is why for the first time ever, we've given local authorities increased and ring-fenced budgets to tackle public health issues in their local area."