'Skating could flourish with an indoor space'

Rich Ward has been skating for about 33 years and loves meeting new people

Skateboarding can become a challenge when winter arrives.

There are no indoor spaces in Birmingham that are "free, safe and legal" for skaters to use, according to Birmingham Skate Spaces CIC.

The collective, a group of people dedicated to bringing unused spaces back to community use for skating, said an indoor area would provide skaters with "a place of belonging and safety".

"An indoor space would mean skateboarding all year round, a place where we could meet and the sport could flourish," Rich Ward, a skater of 33 years, said.

Mr Ward is one of many skaters who use Bournbrook Skate Park, built entirely by volunteers. It became the UK's first DIY skatepark to receive formal skatepark status.

He finds skateboarding addictive and loves the various combinations of tricks.

"These are great ways for you to dip in and out of reality, they are very therapeutic things and great for your mental health," he said.

Shaun Boyle started skateboarding when he was four years old

Shaun Boyle, co-director of Birmingham Skate Spaces said an indoor facility was much needed.

The skateboarding community in Birmingham was quite small and separated, he said, and an indoor space would help change that.

Bournbrook Skate Park was built by volunteers who dedicated more than 1,000 hours of their time to the space

Berni Good said that an indoor space would make a "massive impact" on the community

The group are looking for an indoor space around 850 sq m (9149 sq ft) or larger and have set up a online campaign to raise £10,000. They hope for funding, business sponsors and donations of materials to make it a reality.

"There's lots of commercial units that are sitting redundant at the moment in Birmingham and we would hope that someone would allow us to use that," Berni Good, also a co-director of Birmingham Skate Space said.

Skateboard GB, the national governing body for skateboarding in England, said it supported the group's work to "ensure greater accessibility to skateboard facilities" in the city.

While Birmingham doesn't have some of the facilities other cities have, Rich Ward said skaters make it up with "passion and enthusiasm".

"It can only grow, it can only be better for the scene," he added.

Skaters say it's important to have a safe space where they can practice their skills