THE bid to create a skatepark at Bewdley Leisure Centre has had a big boost after town councillors voted to lead the way to secure vital funds.

A unanimous vote saw Bewdley town councillors pledge to obtain the money - which could need to be as much as £100,000 - to finally bring a skatepark to the site.

The move will begin with an application for £24,000 held by fund-raising charity Opportunity Bewdley.

Other sources of cash could be to tap into £17,000 given to Wyre Forest District Council by the Communities Against Drugs scheme last year and to approach Kidderminster Youth Trust.

Mayor Jeremy Ferguson - who promised to "stick up" for young people in the town when he was sworn in two months ago - said: "It is something we ought to start pushing on.

"We want to start seeing results in the next 12 months.

"If we can get a skatepark started in Bewdley then the hope is we can get one in Kidderminster and Stourport."

The move comes after bosses at DC Leisure - a private firm brought in to run the leisure centre - told councillors it had no immediate plans to pump cash into developing the site.

The leisure centre is co-owned by Wyre Forest District Council, Worcestershire County Council and Bewdley High School.

Speaking before the vote at the last town council meeting, district council community development officer Lesley Fox said action was needed to end the stalemate.

"We need to get the funding in and form a steering group before we can look for a company to do the work," she said.

Mrs Fox said although a skatepark could cost anything up to £100,000, a concrete facility would come in at just £30,000. However, agreement between the owners would first need to be reached, she said.