A COMMUNITY interest company, in the process of setting up a community skatepark in Tavistock, held a recent fundraising day in Bedford Square.

Uskate, which teaches extreme sports and circus skills to children and young adults across the South West, is in the process of raising funds to open an interchangeable skate park and activity centre in a unit on Crelake Industrial Estate.

The company brought out unicycles, diablos, stilts and other equipment for the public to try out as well as holding various stalls, facepainting, circus workshops and demos and some live music.

The Tavistock duo behind Uskate Joni Rainbow and Mark Roberts were pleased with the amount of people who went along.

Joni said: 'We raised £160 on the day and even though it rained we got lots of people coming along and getting involved.'

The duo are hoping to sign the lease for the unit this month, after which they will continue fundraising to be able to change the space into a skate park with moveable ramps, which can be moved out of the way to create a space to teach a range of extreme sports, circus skills, trapeze and martial arts.

The centre will also have a shop, café and will host regular events from music nights to performance shows.

The company, which has been running for four years, employs four apprentices and has more than 30 volunteers. It aims to create apprenticeship and employment opportunities for young people.

Joni said last year Uskate spent a lot of time working in the community: '2014 has been an amazing year for Uskate.

'We have had the joy of teaching 45 children a week at Horrabridge Primary and Lamerton Primary schools and we have supported many events locally and nationally, bringing circus skills to hundreds of children.

'We created Uskate circus shop that is now selling products worldwide and we took on our first apprentices.

'We have confirmed with the owners of our new premises that they are happy to work with us and get the lease signed this month, where we can create a training base to help progress the skills of all users, coaches, volunteers and apprentices.

'It has been a very busy but rewarding year and we are very thankful to have the support of amazing people and hope they will continue to support us through the future growth of Uskate CIC.'

Joni said the team has also been booked to do weekly after school clubs at Milton Abbot Primary School and plans to get into Tavistock's primary schools as well as part of its mission to get as many young people benefiting from extreme sports and circus skills as possible.

The company is hoping to raise in excess of £4,000 through the fundraising platform Pledgesports to help pay for the first three months rent at the unit and every extra penny raised will be used to kit out the centre.