BIDS totalling more than £13,500 have already been placed in an online auction of work by renowned street artists to help raise funds for a new £280,000 skate park in Bradford on Avon.

The auction was launched on Saturday ahead of a pop-up exhibition of the artists' work at Avonworks House in Kingston Road, Bradford on Avon.

Registered bidders are able to place bids from 6pm on Saturday until midnight on Sunday, September 19 for the chance to pick up some unique collectible artworks.

Already, a skateboard called Underground Networking by celebrated street artist Mr Jago has attracted a bid of almost £1,000, while a skateboard decorated with a kingfisher by Westwood artist and graphic designer Matt Richards, and called the Brightest Flash of Blue, has attracted a bid of nearly £900.

Carl Jones, whose son Idris sparked the campaign for a new skatepark in Bradford on Avon, said: "It's been really good. The online auction is going really well and we've already raised more than £13,500 from bids."

Idris, 13, who launched the campaign three years ago, said: "We have got about 40 boards from street artists for the online auction and there have been some really amazing bids.

"We have got boards decorated by some really amazing street artists. I didn't think we would get hold of them, but we did."

Some of the renowned street artists currently feature in the internationally-recognised Vanguard Street Exhibition at Bristol’s M Shed and have leant their talents to help raise money for the new skatepark.

They include artists such as Will Barras, Mr Jago, China Mike and Inkie. They have joined forces with locally-based illustrators and artists Jaquetta Crook and Victoria Topping to donate artwork, mostly decorated skate decks, for an online auction via GalaBid.

Idris, from Bradford on Avon, has campaigned to get a new skatepark since the old one at Poulton Field was demolished after being vandalised.

Fundraisers are now at the halfway stage and Idris says getting a new skate park is “literally my dream”.

“We have got about 40 artists and some are really big like Inkie and Will Barras and China Mike and you can bid on the website for their work.

“There’s posters all around town, my dad’s Instagram account and on Bradford on Avon Skate Park so just check out that.”

Many of the pieces in the exhibition are skateboards which have been decorated by the street artists and are unique.

Bradford on Avon town councillor Kate Besant says the organisers plan to apply for a £150,000 National Lottery grant, which together with the funds already raised locally, would leave them with a further £50,000 left to find.

She said: "With very few facilities for the young people of the town, once they grow out of swings and roundabouts, we would love to replace the unloved and ancient metal skatepark that was demolished more than five years ago.

“We see skating as an important part of recovery after the effects of the pandemics and multiple lockdowns.

“The physical, mental and community benefits of skating are becoming well documented, with research showing a striking correlation between people who skateboard and improved mental health.”

The town council also wants to capitalise on the success of Sky Brown, 13, who became Great Britain’s youngest Olympic medallist by winning a bronze medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

To make a bid for the pieces in the auction, click here