A BURNLEY school is being transformed with a skate park for the bank holiday to help keep youngsters and their boards away from the town centre.

Burnley Borough Council has teamed up with Tribe Enterprises, who ensure safe practices when skating, in a bid to make skating safer for youngsters.

The move comes after the Task Force report into the riots in June highlighted teenage facilities as a high priority in the town.

The group is installing a temporary park in the sports hall at Towneley High School between Friday, May 3, and Monday, May 6, to see how facilities are received and to help persuade skaters to move away from the town centre bandstand.

Mick Cartledge, Burnley Council's director of community and leisure services, said: "Wheeled sports are among the fastest growing sports in the country. The temporary skate park will help us find out what skaters want as well as enabling them to develop their skills. The needs of teenagers were identified as a priority in the Task Force report and this is a further example of the council responding to those needs."

Skate ramps, fun boxes and grind bars provided by the Tribe Enterprises will fill the sports hall, which will be under supervision.

Director of networking at Towneley High School, Chris Puckett, welcomed the idea.

She said: "I think that this is going to be something very valuable to the community and the school is proud to be a part of that.

"It is wonderful to see that Burnley Borough Council has done something positive with the feedback from the Task Force Report and that it has listened to what youngsters have to say.

"Shoppers in the town centre have had enough of the skaters congregating at the bandstand, so at least if they come here it is in a controlled and safe environment."

Charges are £1 or free if safety equipment is worn by skaters wanting to use the park. It will be open from various times throughout the weekend for users with different abilities.

For opening times, contact Shout on 01282 477190.