Young people are criticised for all sorts of different reasons: the way they dress and cut their hair, their attitude to life in general and their elders in particular, a lack of respect for the environment, appalling manners and surly behaviour.

In many cases this criticism in probably well founded. Every young generation is a mystery to most adults, this current generation probably more than any other before it. There is definitely a strong anti-social element among today's young people which seems to lack all respect.

People who skateboard risk finding themselves placed in this category. They whizz about the streets and the forbidden open spaces of the city centre in their baggy American-style clothes and back-to-front caps, apparently intent on enjoying themselves and oblivious to the nuisance they might be causing to anyone else.

But young people are full of surprises. Bradford's skateboarders have good hearts. They proved it yesterday when they flocked to a contest in a central Bradford car park in honour of the memory of 14-year-old Matthew Douglas, who died during an attack of asthma while travelling home on a bus. At the illegal event, to which Bradford Council has tactfully decided to turn a blind eye, the skaters held a collection to raise funds for the charity Asthma Research.

It is rather moving that so many people turned up, several from far afield, to help make the event a success. It was a fitting tribute by the skateboarding fraternity to one of its peers - a young lad who was liked and respected both for his skateboarding skills and as a good friend.

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