A 12-YEAR-OLD boy has launched a campaign to bring a scooter park to his town in a bid to give teenagers something to do, make people healthier and reduce accidents.

Tom Holford hopes officials at North Herts District Council will listen to him in his quest to build the facility in Baldock.

The Knights Templar student, who has lived in the town for the past eight years, believes it needs a scooter park as he currently has to travel to Letchworth GC to scoot safely.

The Year 8 student, who lives with his parents on Pond Lane, said having a scooter park would make Baldock a safer place for everyone, as youngsters scoot on pavements and roads because there is nowhere else to go.

“This endangers pedestrians and cars because we go fast and sometimes it is hard to stop at traffic lights. Having a scooter park would also keep teenagers away from small children in the parks,” he said.

“Avenue Park is where I think small children feel intimidated to go because of the teenagers sitting on the apparatus hanging around doing nothing. Also it is not very nice for the parents with small children because of the health and safety hazards of teenagers scooting about.”

Tom, who has always been a keen scooter user, said having a scooter park would give teenagers something to do and also help reduce obesity among teenagers.

“The nearest swimming pool is in Letchworth GC, the nearest bowling alley is in Stevenage and the nearest cinema is Letchworth GC or Stevenage.

“At the moment the memorial is used as a bike and scooter jump and people are complaining about it. If we had a scooter park it would stop this and stop the council dealing with complaints.”