THE finishing touches are being added to the first purpose-built skateboard park to be built in Darlington.

The £70,000 facility will open at the start of October, as part of the £3.9m Lottery-funded restoration of South Park.

Local teenagers helped design the park working closely with borough council officials.

In the coming weeks, a perimeter fence will be built around the skate park and a professional graffiti artist will decorate the concrete.

Acting park manager Paul Place said: "The project has sought to balance historical restoration work with new 21st Century facilities.

"What is most exciting about this is that it shows how the public has been involved in the whole restoration process.

"It is the skateboarders themselves who have helped to design it and right up to a couple of weeks ago they were suggesting modifications on site to ensure that it meets their needs."

Lee Vasey, the council's cabinet member for leisure services, said: "Work on the new skateboard park is nearly complete and I am sure it will be well used by young people in the borough.

"The renovated South Park will have something for everyone and I urge people to visit to see what changes have already been made."