SKATERS can look forward to the smoothest of surfaces as workers move in to install the latest in ice rink technology.

The Ice Arena, part of the Billingham Forum leisure complex, will close for four weeks from tomorrow to allow work on the rink to be completed.

Work will include a new ice pad and the installation of cooling equipment which not only freezes the ice but also controls water temperature in the pool.

The rink surround will also be refurbished, flooring will be replaced and the Arena interior will by repainted.

Existing equipment there is outdated and Stockton Borough Council have been working for some time to solve a problem with melting ice, which has led to increasingly frequent closures in recent months.

It is hoped that the improvement work will be completed in time for the busy summer holiday period.

Council bosses justify the £150,000 cost of the work bysaying the Arena will soon be open again, so that it does not lose that much money from the paying public.

Councillor Alex Cunningham, the council's cabinet member for education, leisure and cultural services, said: "The Forum is the only ice facility between Whitley Bay and Hull and we are continuing to invest in it because it is important to so many people."