Sutton is the latest village to call for a skate park

Children, parents, councillors and local police are joining forces to look at the possibility of creating a facility in the local park.

The move follows complaints from residents of Crofter's Mill, who claim up to 30 skateboarders congregate near their homes at night, and leave debris from their home-made ramps.

Now annoyed residents have complained to the police.

But Coun Steve Place said the youngsters were not "bad" children and were not doing any harm. They simply had nowhere else to go.

"There is a problem throughout the Craven district of children gathering in large numbers, near people's homes," he explained.

"The police have been down there on a regular basis, asking them not to skate in front of people's houses and not to leave their crates and pallets but to clear them away afterwards.

"The police have written a standard letter to the parents of the children to make them aware of the problem and to reinforce the message that this is unacceptable behaviour."

But, he said, some parents thought this was an affront to civil rights, and claimed the letters were unfair and were the "slippery slope" to the children getting criminal records.

Coun Place said the problem was there was nowhere else to go in the village, and the mill area had always been used by children.

"They took out a natural safe play area when they built the estate. Look at all the in-fill houses we have seen in the village - all built on the waste land that kids have traditionally played on," he said.

"We have taken out the 'fun' equipment in the children's play areas of the park because it is uninsurable and too expensive to replace. There's nowhere left for the kids to play."

He added that the skate park at Glusburn was too far away.

Now a committee, headed by PC Chris Galley and including parish councillors, the children and youth worker Andrew Sharpe, are looking into creating an area.

One suggestion is to utilise an under-used piece of land in the park, stretching from the football pitch to Main Street. The area has its own access point and is well lit.

The committee is to seek advice from Glusburn Parish Council, which has created its own skate park, and two organisations which might be able to provide equipment at cost price, using the services of prisoners.

PC Galley said there had been an acute problem at the bottom of Crofter's Mill, with children causing a nuisance.

He added: "We are looking to resolve the problems in a number of way, which includes going into the schools and talking to children about how they can alleviate the problems themselves. We are also keen to set up a project team to research the idea of a skate park."

"This is a huge opportunity to give our kids something back, somewhere they can call their own and look after it," said Coun Place, adding the children would be encouraged to be involved with the design and construction.

He said that children who attended Monday's parish council had been willing to help with the project, and some parents also offered their services.