Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg dropped in on Putney nursery to announce Government changes to paternity and maternity leave.

Mr Clegg, a Putney resident himself, made the short journey from his home in Parkfields to the The Third Door nursery, in Point Pleasant, to unveil the plans.

He said that from 2015 the UK will move to a new system of flexible parental leave as part of a huge shake-up of current arrangements.

Under the new plans, parents would be able to decide for themselves how to divide up a year’s worth of parental leave.

Speaking at the nursery Mr Clegg said: "The current rules might have worked in the 1950s. These days mum and dad's both work and often the mother can earn more than the father.

"We need to make sure our rules fit the 21st Century."

The nursery was chosen as the location for the announcements because they have been implementing some of the Deputy PM's ideas for more than 18 months.

It opened in May 2010, after Shazia Mustafa and Yusuf Chadun came up with the idea of combining an office environment and a nursery for working parents.

Ms Mustafa, co-founder of Third Door, said: "We got a call from the Cabinet press team last week. They asked if we could a handle 100-person press conference and came down to have a look.

"We were chosen because we have already done a lot of what Mr Clegg was talking about. So we have been ahead of the curve for some time."

Since last year The Third Door, which looks after up to 24 children, has attracted a number of businesses including a marketing firm, software engineers, a media lawyer and a magazine.

For more information visit third-door.com