A £4,500 cross-barrier, imported from Canada, is helping Bradford schoolchildren take their first faltering steps at Bradford Ice Rink.

Head coach Andy Brown, who is teaching ice hockey to pupils from 14 schools, said of the barrier: "It is a sturdy aluminium structure with a plastic top that comes in sections and can be pieced together to cut the rink in two.

"It extends across the width of the rink - about 25 metres - and divides the ice hockey from the figure skating-training or public sessions on the other side of the rink."

Brown added: "It means that kids can't slide through from one half of the rink to the other and obviously aids safety."

A pilot scheme to introduce Year Four (eight to nine-year-olds) pupils to ice hockey began at the end of the 2002-03 school year.

And in 2003-04 Brown was able to work five days a week with the youngsters, an hour at a time, with two sessions every morning and two every afternoon.

He said: "I have lessons from 9.30-10.30 and 10.30 to 11.30 in the morning and then from 1pm-2pm and 2pm-3pm." Schools that have been attending sessions are St Oswald's, St Columba's, Horton Park, St Matthew's, St Cuthbert's, St William's, St Phillip's, Atlas, Iqra, Margaret McMillan, St Stephen's, Lidget Green, All Saints and Haycliffe School.

Brown said: "Haycliffe, which is a special school, send kids aged 12 to 15, but all the rest are Year Four pupils.

"The kids are a 50-50 split between boys and girls, but about 60 per cent of the pupils are of Asian origin.

"They come to the rink never having skated before, but by the end of the year they are involved in mini-matches and are quite proficient."

He added: "Ultimately the idea is for them to play for Bradford Ice Hockey Club. We have an open-age team, an under-19s (Vipers), under-16s (Pirates), under-14s (Buccaneers) and under-12s (Ice Knights).

"However, we need more players for the under-12s and we are hoping to start a team for the under-tens. They can be boys or girls."

Andy can be contacted on 0797-630567.