A REDDITCH father of three has voiced his concern over the lack of facilities for youngsters in the town after his election as the Liberal Democrat prospective Parliamentary candidate.

Mike Ashall, who has lived in Redditch for more than 20 years, takes over from Malcolm Hall, who was the candidate at the last General Election.

Mr Ashall is married with three grown-up children and is a regional sales manager for an international engineering company.

He has been a candidate in Redditch Council elections since 1992 and was the candidate for Birmingham Northfield in the 1997 General Election.

Mr Ashall said: "I am very concerned about issues such as the poor state of public transport and the general lack of amenities, especially for young people.

"For a growing town such as Redditch, there's a distinct lack of facilities. It is well behind other similar towns.

"There is no swimming pool for youngsters, for which we have been campaigning for eight years, there is no coffee bar, no cinema, in fact virtually nothing which gives them an alternative to simply hanging around.

"And I also believe the bus service is below par, the buses are sometimes dirty and antiquated.

"The Liberal Democrats and Councillor Diane Thomas are looking to improve the timetable and other aspects of the service."

Mr Ashall added: "You simply have to knock on doors and talk to residents and they will tell you what needs to be done to make Redditch a better place to live."