MEMBERS of the Bradford Bandits BMX racing club are appealing for help to bring their track up to scratch.

The site in Peel Park was created in the 1990s and is open to the public, but the club is hoping that if the funding can be found, the facility can be brought up to a better standard.

This is turn would boost members' riding abilities and help them bring home more trophies.

Former professional Martin Ogden, who is the club coach, told the Telegraph & Argus, they had attended the BMX world championships in Holland earlier this year and done really well. Mr Ogden himself came home with a world number 7 trophy, and junior members performed well too.

In setting their sights on the 2015 world championships in Belgium, they are hoping a redesigned track can help them bring home some more world rankings trophies.

He said: "We had some work done on the track recently, on one of the straights to make the jumps a bit better at a cost of £3,000. But we want to change the whole layout of the jumps as the track layout has been the same for the last four or five years.

"It means we are lagging behind compared to other clubs, and our riders are not up to speed when we go to competitions elsewhere. The kids are also getting bored with the same layout and need a new challenge."

But the club is now paying about £9,000 of its own money to create a asphalt loop to help with regular parking problems and to provide space for the bike trailer to be brought up to trackside.

This has led to them being unable to afford any further track improvements, unless funding can be found elsewhere. Mr Ogden said they had already approached the Council to no avail.

Members are regularly involved in planning any further development of the track, work on which needs to take place before the busy racing season starts in March.

To find out more about the club log on to bradfordbmxbandits.org.uk.