Mums and dads who have had to drive their sons and daughters to Worthing, Littlehampton or Horsham to enjoy their sports will also, no doubt, be pleased that the new facility has now opened on the Bramley Green.

Hundreds of people attended the family occasion in bright sunshine, and word is clearly getting round about the quality of Angmering's new concrete skating bowl — with skaters from Littlehampton and Washington among visitors trying it out.

Nick Herbert, the village's MP, cut a ribbon to declare the skatepark open. He said: "At a time when young people have been demonised a lot, it's great to see kids here enjoying themselves and the community providing these facilities for them."

Lottery grant

Parish council vice-chairman Mark Edwards, project manager for the scheme, said the finished bowl was "excellent" and council chairman Nigel Nunn was "more than pleased", adding: "We have had kids down here all week wanting to use it."

The council won a Big Lottery grant to pay for the bowl in a Meridian Television phone vote in which villagers were urged to take part last autumn.

Young people contributed ideas to the bowl's builders, Gravity Engineering Ltd. Brendan Jarvis, of Gravity, said: "It's a concrete bowl with a 'pool' section and a height of between 4ft and 6ft. It's designed so that some of the younger ones can feel comfortable, but the more professional guys can have fun as well."

And two professional skateboarders showed off the bowl's attributes with a demonstration of their skills before the boys and girls who will be using it day in, day out, took over. Stalls, a bouncy castle, facepainting and other activities made it an enjoyable time for the whole family.

Lewis Hughes, 14, from Angmering, tried it out with his bike and was impressed. "It's really good. To actually have a skatepark in Angmering is great. I used to go to Horsham or Worthing before."

His friend Connor Smith, 12, also from Angmering, agreed. "It's better than paying money to travel around."

Both had also used a new BMX trail made from the earth dug out to build the bowl.

George Ashcroft, 12, from Littlehampton, was one of the visitors. He said: "This is probably the best one around."

Another happy boy was Matthew Parlour, eight, a pupil of St Margaret's CE Primary School, Angmering, who won the raffle prize of a skateboard from Alleyhoops, Worthing.

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