A GROUP of Colne youngsters have been given £3,000 by councillors after impressing with their vision for the future of sporting facilities in the town.

The four youngsters from the Sport Action Group addressed Thursday night's Colne Area Committee meeting to help regenerate the play area in the North Valley estate.

In a bid to encourage funding, the children told the meeting how they plan to attract cash from outside bodies.

The youngsters came together after they created a skate ramp on the grassed areas of Birtwistle Avenue and were told by the council if they did it again they would be fined £50.

They decided to take drastic action and are now in the process of forming their own committee. They plan to raise sponsorship and get support from local businesses.

Members of the sport action group want to make use of land in the area to create a multi purpose sports area, bike and skate park and a youth shelter.

Councillors at the meeting agreed to grant £3,000 from this year's capital programme to help them develop their plans.

Alan Davies, leader of Pendle Council, said: "I am impressed that a group of young people can come into this environment which is quite intimidating and give us their views.

"We need to ensure we will do everything we can to make it come to some sort of fruition. The biggest part will come down to money, money on a scale as an area committee we don't have.

"We need to consult with the management committee that runs the neighbourhood renewal fund who are in a position to provide five figure sums which will be needed to make this work."

The committee agreed to support the group and assist the youngsters in helping to find a suitable area for the sports project.