WORK has begun on a £160,000 community skatepark in Radcliffe.

In-line skaters, BMX riders and skateboarders could be perfecting their wheel-spins and bunny-hops by summer as the park is due to be completed by June.

It marks the end of a five-year campaign by the Radcliffe Association of Dedicated Skaters (RADS) who approached the council back in 1997.

The youngsters were frustrated by the lack of facilities in the town and were fed up of being moved on and complained about whenever they practised their skating skills on car parks.

The skatepark will cover an area of 1, 800 square metres and is to be located on land off Hutchinson Way.

Nine sites were originally considered before the council-owned site was picked. It was chosen because it is near the town centre, there are no adjacent houses and it is an area close to where skaters currently congregate.

Aided by Radcliffe Area Board, RADS secured a £99,000 grant from the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA). Bury Council made £30,000 available for landscaping, a further £5,000 was made available from a council Kickstart allocation and Pilsworth Environmental Company provided £20,000.

Mr Chris Kelman, RADS co-ordinator, said: "On behalf of local skateboarders, BMX riders and in-line skaters who make up RADS, I would like to thank the Northwest Development Agency and our other supporters for the considerable financial support they have given to this project.

"The awards will add greatly to the development of the site, and allows us to allocate the majority of our remaining funds to the equipment, thereby improving vastly the range of fixtures we can purchase."

NWDA area manager Helen France said: "NWDA recognises the importance of sport in helping to improve the health of people in the North West. The development of sports facilities through regeneration programmes provides an important resource for local communities, especially young people, while bringing unused land back into active use."