Ilkley'S £70,000 bandstand is being damaged by young skate-boarders - only weeks after it was opened.

Paving stones on the platform of the bandstand, on The Grove, are being chipped away.

More than £250 of damage has already been caused as skate enthusiasts and inline skaters use it to perform stunts.

New benches at the site, which was funded as a millennium project by the Rotary Clubs of Ilkley, are also continually moved out of place and piles of rubbish left behind.

Paul Anning, chairman of Ilkley Bandstand Management Committee, which has been established to manage the bandstand, said he was dismayed at the youngsters' disregard for the hard work, which went into the project.

He said: "I can see the attraction for them, there is a ramp at the back of the bandstand and they speed up and down. But we spent a lot of money on this and I just want them to respect it."

He stressed that the area was privately owned - and that security measures, including CCTV cameras and fencing, would be brought in.

However, Mr Anning said he did not wish to antagonise the skate-boarders - as he understood they had nowhere else to go. He said: "I do not want to sound like 'get off my bandstand', I am trying to take a conciliatory attitude."

Mr Anning also said he was among a growing number of people in the town who believed skateboarders should have their own purpose-built skate park.

He said: "I am in full favour of that. They do need somewhere to go. I am not aware of any fundraising going on but if they get something up and running the Rotary Club may be able to help them."

Not all townsfolk share Mr Anning's philosophical view - and tension is mounting between some townsfolk over skateboarders carousing the streets.

Only days ago a young boy was deliberately tripped from his board by a man, in Brook Street - leaving the youngster with a sprained wrist.

Jenny Dixon, of St Paul's Grove, the boy's grandmother, said: "On Tuesday my grandson arrived from Cumbria to stay with me for a few days. At 11.55am he was on his way to Terry's for a sandwich, when just as he was passing Barclays Bank a 'gentleman' deliberately stuck his foot out at Josh's skate-board, which caused him to come off and the skate-board headed towards the road.

"Josh asked the man why he had done that and he was told, 'you should not be on one of those'. I would like the 'gentleman' to know Josh is left handed and now has a sprained left wrist.

"Yes, Josh should not have been on his skateboard in Brook Street but I hope the man in question will next time get his brain in gear and not his foot."

Planning permission has already been granted for a skate park scheme, in Middleton, to the group Pipe Dream.

The group is already trying to raise the £84,000 necessary to build it.

Headway has recently been made with the commitment of another group of businessmen in the town, the Moody Magpies, to start fund-raising in earnest.

Steve Tennant, of Ashworth and Tennant jewellers, a member of the group, said: "There are quite a few of us in and around the Moors Shopping Centre. The kids out there on an evening are always getting moved on.

"We just feel they deserve somewhere to go. There is not a lot in town for them to do and we feel it is worthwhile raising a bit of cash."

John Anderson, of Pipe Dream, said: "I met with two of the Moody Magpies last week. They showed an awful lot of interest in raising money for the skateboard park, which is great. We are grateful for the positive attitude they are showing.

"We have got some donations already. The biggest donation promised is £5,000 from Miller Homes."

Det Con Roger Gasson, of Keighley Police, said: "We could work closely with the committee to look at some sort of trespassing laws and perhaps get some orders put out to prevent it. And put some signs up, let them know, in no uncertain terms, they cannot go on there.

"Longer term, they do need somewhere to go. We need to work closely with the council and Youth Service to enable that to happen."