Vandalism may delay BMX track relaunch

Volunteers said repairing the damage would take up valuable time that could be used for upgrading the track

The reopening of a community-funded BMX track which is undergoing a £6,000 revamp may have to be delayed due to vandalism, volunteers said.

The free-to-use track in Sheffield's Bolehill Recreation Ground - known locally as Bolehills - was left damaged for the second time by off-road motorcycles on Thursday.

Sheffield Dirt Society, which looks after the facilities, said the incident was "disheartening", adding that volunteers dedicated "thousands of hours" every year to maintain the site.

Bolehills, which is currently closed to the public, was set to reopen on 3 May but volunteers said the damage was now delaying work.

Volunteer Dave Camus said: "It's something that's hurting the kids who want to come around.

"It's damaging a community, not just a track."

Bolehills was one of about a dozen installed in parks by Sheffield City Council as BMX grew in popularity in the early 1980s.

Over the past 40 years, successive generations of bikers have effectively taken ownership of the site and made it their mission to retain the community asset.

Ruts and holes have been left at the BMX track in Sheffield

Mr Camus said the track was already run on "a shoestring budget" with valuable time now being taken up by repairs when it could be spent on the revamp.

"It will have to be left to the elements if it carries on rather than be a national class facility," he said.

Pictures from the track show ruts left in the surface as well as several holes.

"When you have something like that happen, it's really disheartening," said Mr Camus.

"It's not very often that it happens, we are not plagued with it but when it does happen, we just want to make sure people are educated that it's not a council-run facility with loads of money being poured in.

"No one is making any money, it's just something a core group are doing and keep running for the love of it."

South Yorkshire Police has urged anyone who sees motorcycles on the track to call 999 and warned offenders would be prosecuted and bikes seized.

Meanwhile, officers would patrol the area to prevent further offending.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.