FED-UP shopkeepers, who say youngsters have turned their centre into an assault course, say there is a desperate need for a skateboard park.

Shopkeepers at the Moors shopping Centre, in Ilkley, say skateboarders and inline skaters are putting themselves and customers at risk.

Soon after the school bell, young people are making their way to the centre - mowing shoppers out of the way to practise their skateboarding skills.

Sarah Scott, of Bags of Class, said: "They could cause an injury to themselves or people walking up and down. They could also damage cars that are parked here. "If the council could provide them with somewhere to go and roller-blade I am pretty sure they would use it. It would keep them away from here."

Business owners also say the youths are causing damage to their shop fronts, and leaving piles of rubbish.

Hannah O'Malley, manager of, Fifth Avenue women's fashion store, said: "The problem is Rollerbladers, skate-boarders, and the latest thing is the scooters.

"They come racing down here at all times and they are just a nuisance. They just won't take no for an answer.

"When they come at night they leave all their litter behind, they pull plants out of the flower beds and leave soil on the floor. One time they threw curry all over the window and we had to clean it off. It is starting to look an absolute state.

"They are between the age of nine and 14 and the language they come out with is terrible. If you ask them to move they just think it is a joke."

Ms O'Malley said she felt let down by the police, who have been called on numerous occasions.

She said: "We have to keep phoning the police and they say they can't do anything about it. We have had no help at all." The shopkeepers are convinced that a properly managed skateboard park would be the only solution to keep youths off the streets.

Diane Czajkow, manager of The Edinburgh Woollen Mill, said: "They desperately need somewhere to go. They are all nice lads. A skateboard park would be in their best interests and customers as well."

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: "We are aware, and have been for some time, that there are some skateboarding problems in Ilkley.

"Concerns have been raised, especially during the school holidays, about the safety of pedestrians. The main complaints centre on the damage of walls and other property.

"The Community Action Team, at the division, has been asked to look into it and will be speaking to those involved.

"Bradford Council has been asked to find a solution."