SOME 12 youngsters from Windermere skateboarding charity Sk8 spent Saturday morning stuffing carrier bags of shopping for customers at their local Booths store, raising £250 in tips.

The money will go into the kitty to raise £19,000 for a plush new steel half-pipe ramp at Queen's Park in Windermere. So far, the group of children and adults supporting the Sk8 cause have raised £6,500 to replace the wooden ramp that was removed by South Lakeland District Council after it became unsafe.

A bid for £11,000 is before the Pools-funded Foundation for the Sports and the Arts and another application for £5,000 is being considered by Awards for All to pay for new skate kit which could include more than the half-pipe, if Sk8 raise enough cash.

"The children are 100 per cent committed and they demonstrated that on Saturday," said Sk8 chairman Rebecca Frain. "They normally go around in their baggy cloths but they really smartened up for the occasion. They did us proud."

May 22, 2003 14:30