A £140,000 skate park has officially opened after years of hard work from local organisations and volunteers.

The team of councillors and contributors gathered in Carlton Colville this morning for the unveiling of the new Carlton Meadow Skate Park, a project in the pipeline since 2015.

Youngsters were out in force on their skateboards, scooters and BMX bikes, keen to sample the ramps, rails and bowls that the park has to offer.

The project has been driven by Waveney District Council (WDC), Carlton Colville Town Council and WREN, all of who contributed tens of thousands of pounds.

Further input from Lowestoft Lions, East Coast Rotary, Rope and Ting Dene pushed fundraising efforts over the line, before the skate park was finally readied for use thanks to Sentinel Leisure Trust and Waveney Norse.

WDC cabinet member Graham Catchpole said: 'It's brilliant to see people using the park on opening day and it's the result of a real community effort.

'We have to put this down to the efforts of Carlton Colville Town Council, who have headed this up. It shows what parish councils can achieve when they work in partnership with district councils and other local organisations.'

Mr Catchpole added that the park's opening highlighted the district council's commitment to youth provision in the area.

'For the district as a whole this is really impressive because we've now got a skate park in Kessingland, one in Normanston Park and there's one about to be started in Beccles.

'A lot of youngsters say to us they haven't got anything to do, but we're developing a network of different skate parks and showing we're not ignoring their concerns.'

Jill Tyler, who spearheaded the project as vice chairman of the town council, said credit was due for some of the town's unsung heroes.

'I'd like to thank the Carlton Colville Youth Council that we had five years ago, who instigated this process. They undertook surveys, produced a report and presented it to the town council, so without them this wouldn't have happened.

'It's amazing we've got such a brilliant facility in Carlton Colville.'

On Sunday, October 21, Smash Skates of Beccles and Sk8box of Lowestoft will host a skating competition from 1pm to 4pm. Smash Skates will provide free skate lessons from 9am to 11am.