YOUNG skateboarders and roller bladers are planning the next leap forward in their five-year fight for a skate park.

Thame Skatepark Association is to meet soon to plan a series of fundraising events toward the £37,000 cost.

They need to raise another £15,000.

Events already planned include a disco and jumble sale.

Youngsters want a skate park, with ramps and half-pipes, especially designed for skateboarding and roller blading.

Aaron Edwards, 15, who has been skating in Thame for three years, said: 'We need this park pretty badly.

'It has got boring skating round on the street and we get told not to do it anyway.

'But we really haven't got anywhere else to go.'

Planning permission for a park, off the North Eastern Distributor Road, Thame, was given last November.

money toward the cost has come from Thame Town Council, Thame Community Trust Fund and Crest Homes. Money is also being sought from the National Lottery.

Aaron's mother Shirley Edwards, is chairman of Thame Skatepark Association, and believes the park will be ready in the near future. The park would be maintained and run by Thame Town Council.

She said: 'The youngsters have done an enormous amount of work to raise money for the skatepark and we are aiming to raise all the money by the end of the year.'

A spokesman for Thame Town Council said: 'We look forward to it being up and running before the end of the year.

'There is still a lot of money to be raised but Thame Town Council is very appreciative of the work which the youngsters have done towards this project.'