Skateboarders in Cross Hills say they have nowhere to go and have had enough of being labelled as yobs.

A group of young skateboarders spoke on Wednesday of their annoyance at the lack of facilities in the area to pursue their sport.

They are unhappy at what they see as discrimination against the sport and feel that they have been unfairly branded as troublemakers.

And they have appealed to Glusburn parish councillors to help them.

Louis Armsby, 16, said: "There's a whole lot of prejudice towards us. People think we are yobs and thugs and go around breaking public property.

"I do not consider myself a yob and I'm sure that most of the people here don't either.

"Skateboarding is an officially recognised sport. Other sports get their facilities but we don't."

Kris Britland, 15, added: "Everywhere we go we get chucked off.

"We all think it's mean and we feel annoyed because we have got nowhere to skate at all. We are sick of being chased away."

Sam Peel, 16, said: "People think that we are low lives and bums but we are not. They think we are all vandals.

"We aren't. What would be the point? It just spoils it for us if we go around wrecking where we skate."

Friends Scott Summerville and Alex Delmege, both 14, told how the group had already lobbied the council to provide skateboarding facilities.

Scott said: "We handed in a petition about two years ago and we have had meetings with the council but we still have nowhere to go."

Alex added: "When we met with the council they said they were positive about it but nothing has happened."

The group also complained about the money that had been spent on other equipment in the park. Sam Peel said: "They told us that it was down to a lack of funding. But they have built so much park equipment for young children and they just don't use it."

Young skateboarder George Eastbury, five, added: "I don't go on it. They should get a skate park."

Skipton is the nearest skate park available to the group, which places a burden, both in time and financially, on the parents of younger children.

George's mother Christine, 33, said: "I have three boys who are all into skateboarding. We have to go to Skipton and sit there for hours while they do it."

She said the children had been asked to send letters to the parish council and she had also written.

Councillor Gill Birks, chairman of the council, has herself been campaigning for a skate park and members are currently awaiting news on whether it will receive extra money to do so.

It will take an estimated £21,000 to build the facility and the parish council voted last week to allocate £11,000 towards the project, but only if matched funding could be found.

Cllr Birks said she was hoping to get an answer in a couple of weeks.

"I posed the question if we do not get the grant would we be prepared to consider funding the full £21,000," she added.

At the meeting, however, the council refused to consider the proposal, saying that it would not be acceptable to tax paying residents.