A GROUP of Hatherleigh teenagers are breaking new ground by forming a committee and applying for a lottery grant.

The ten boys, aged from 13 to 16, are determined to get the funds to build a skateboard ramp in the town.

Encouraged by the town council, the boys have had their first official meeting, opened up a bank account and sought advice from West Devon Borough Council's sports development officer.

Youngest member of the committee Thomas Smith said the group, who call themselves the 'Hatherleigh Skate Park Initiative', were hoping to apply for a Millennium Festival Award in the region of £4,000 before the New Year and they would know the outcome in the spring.

Thomas said there had been some complaints because the young people had been roller blading and skateboarding in The Square and the town council had been trying to address the problem.

'The town council thought it would be a good idea to put a skateboard ramp in the Island Park which was out of harms way,' he said.

An appeal for young people to come along to a town council meeting and tell members what they wanted in September was a great success and hence the committee was formed as a result.

'The town council is behind us and the mayor has been really helpful,' said Thomas. 'She has been talking to the members and representing us. It's been really good.'

Committee chairman Giles Jacob, 16, said he was surprised by the amount of people who wanted it to happen.

'If we do not get the grant we will find another way to get the money but we will get it somehow.

'We know what we want and by having our own committee we are in control of the project,' he said.

'It has been quite hard putting the bid together but we have had a lot of help — we have made a three minute video of skateboarding and BMXing around Hatherleigh and the places we have to meet at the moment to show the lottery board what the situation is like — we really want our application to stand out.'

Giles said he had never heard of a youth council like theirs before: 'I think we are the first so hopefully the lottery board will take notice of our bid.'

He added that although the committee had been formed for one purpose he hoped it would continue to represent the needs of young people in Hatherleigh.

Mayor of Hatherleigh Denise Herrod-Taylor said she started the ball rolling because she saw some of the young people very 'disconsolate' and wanted to do something to help them.

The town council had offered them a piece of land in the Island Park because the young people thought it was too long to wait for the community centre to the built.

She said she was really impressed by the committee: 'They are all being very sensible about it — they know what they want and how to go about it.'

Thomas Smith's mum Carol agreed: 'They are doing an awful lot of work and I think it is wonderful,' she said.

'The boys are generating all the ideas,' she said.

'As well as going for lottery funding they are approaching organisations and thinking about other fundraising ideas.'

Ms Smith said only one other skate park application has been awarded funding in the South West so they are keeping their fingers crossed.

'The boys are certainly putting a lot more other information with the bid — they have designed their own boards and logo in the hope that it will attract attention.'