Bradford's first aggressive skateboard park faces closure at the end of the month unless owners can secure extra funding to guarantee its future.

The Snakepit in Manchester Road, Odsal, is fighting for its survival as owners reveal it is losing up to a £1,000 per week.

Three staff would also loose their jobs, as well as six voluntary workers.

Staff have launched a petition urging the Council to help and Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe has written to the Council to enlist its support.

Mr Sutcliffe said: "It is an ambitious project and if it continues it will save the Council a lot of money in street repairs. I hope we can do something to help it."

Owners of the indoor park, which opened five months ago, need to raise at least £10,000 to ensure its survival for the next year and future developments.

Co-owner Mike Baziw said he has been pressing Bradford Council for months for a cash boost, but none has been forthcoming. Mr Baziw added: "We are private owners but we need help. We cannot keep sinking cash into the project."

The Snakepit is a commercial operation so it is not eligible for Councll funding. But a Council spokesman said it would back the park in "whatever way we can."

Manager Harry Burd said the news would be a blow to the club's 60 regular members and more than 400 people who had registered with the park.

Mr Burd said: "The kids love coming here because we offer a safe, indoor environment. I have heard of cases where people have been skating in outdoor parks and been mugged for their gear.

"This gear and equipment costs the kids a lot of money, so it is heartbreaking to tell users that we might have to close."

Mr Baziw is hoping that the local community will rally behind them. "A lot of the children here do not have much so we keep our prices as low as we can."

A spokesman for Bradford Council said: "We have advised them to consider restructuring as a charity or voluntary organisation to put them in a stronger position to apply for public or lottery funding. In the short term we will continue to support the park in whatever way we can."

Last week the Daily Grind skateboard centre in Bingley announced it was under threat of closure.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.