RESIDENTS in Bradford on Avon flocked to a second-hand book sale in the sunshine on Saturday to help support a fundraising campaign to build a new skatepark for the town's youngsters.

The sale was organised by Bradford on Avon Town Council which hosted the event in Westbury Gardens to raise funds towards a new £200,000 skatepark.

Kate Bessent, one of the organisers, said: "It's lovely to see the town out and about shopping but also to talk to people about the skatepark.

"We have got some skaters here who are also selling tote bags and t-shirts and some prints by a Bristol artist called Will Barras."

Cllr Bessant, who organised the sale with the BoA Skatepark Group, said: “We’ve had huge support from the community with amazing donations of great quality books – lots of new fiction and good quality classics, as well as fabulous non-fiction.

“Most of the books were either £1 or 50p and there were lots of bargains. It’s a great chance to promote reading and raise money for a project that will benefit our youth for many years to come.”

John Marling, of The Cotton Bag Company, produced and donated the first 50 tote bags towards the campaign, which meant that £400 went straight into the fund. The tote bags are also being sold at Christine’s Sustainable Supermarket in Silver Street for £8 each.

Idris Jones, 13, was one of the town’s youngsters who launched the campaign for a new skatepark after the previous facility at Poulton Field was vandalised. He said: “It has been going really well. I have raised £7,000 now."

The town council is planning a public consultation at Poulton Field in September where people can have their say about the different options.

The council has pledged £100,000 towards the project and the local community has already raised more than £10,000, including a £3,000 donation from local company AB Dynamics.