A SECOND shelter has been built in a town to give youths somewhere to meet.

The new shelter, on the corner of Vivis Lane car park, Pickering, has been paid for by the Safer Ryedale community partnership to help discourage anti-social behaviour.

Pickering's first shelter was installed 18 months ago in the Eastgate car park.

Ryedale Youth Action Officer, PC Stewart Ashton, who has been working with young people on both projects, said: "The initial shelter has been a great success, but what we've found is that there are different groups of youngsters who don't always gel together."

He said a regular group had based itself at the Eastgate shelter while others felt left out.

"We want to create opportunities to include as many youngsters as we can, so a second shelter seemed the obvious move," he said.

Work to clear the site for the new shelter was carried out by members of the North Yorkshire County Council mobile environmental task force through New Deal, which helps the long-term unemployed develop skills.

The shelter has been welcomed by Pickering Town and Ryedale district councillor Natalie Warriner.

She said: "Young people are as much a part of the community as anyone else and we can't keep pushing them into a corner."

The councillor warned young people to respect the shelter and the area, saying: "If they abuse it, or cause a nuisance in the area, they could lose it. I hope they won't let me down."