Children as young as seven are risking their lives by skateboarding across high roofs at a business park, police have warned.

The youngsters are climbing on top of units at Drill Hall Business Park in East Parade, Ilkley, and skating across areas surrounded by a 20ft drop onto concrete.

"They could definitely kill themselves," said PC Stuart Hudson, one of Ilkley's new Problem Orientated Police (POP) officers.

"There is a real danger to the kids, some of them at the age of seven."

Philip Howard, of Instrumentation Systems and Services, said he had confronted youths whom he caught skating across the roof of his firm's premises.

"They don't see anything wrong with climbing over the roof next door, damaging it and coming onto my roof," he said.

PC Hudson said the skateboarders were also creating problems elsewhere in the town, including Booths supermarket car park, the memorial gardens on The Grove and the Moors Shopping Centre. He is urging firms and residents in the town to back an £80,000 scheme for a skate park at Middleton.

John Anderson, chairman of the skate park committee Pipe Dream, said the lack of facilities in Ilkley forced skateboarders to use inappropriate areas.

Planning permission for the state-of-the-art skate park - at Middleton Recreation Ground, in Denton Road - was granted last year.

Mr Anderson said the Pipe Dream team had applied for grants from various bodies and was waiting to hear back.

But he said he hoped Ilkley people would donate generously.

Donations for the skate park should be sent to Mr Anderson at 5 Old Lane, Low Mill Village, Addingham LS29 0SA. Cheques should be made payable to IYAC-Pipe Dream.

Skateboarders can have their say on the project at a meeting in the Moors Shopping Centre car park tonight at 6.30pm.