'˜This needs to stop or someone will get hurt'

The £250k council-backed urban sports facility at Solitude Park hasn’t been officially opened, but it is already being well used by people of all ages.

However, following an incident at the park on Thursday night (March 29) during which drunken yobs smashed bottles, local youth worker Jordan Curran has called for action to tackle anti-social behaviour in the area so that people can use the park in peace.

Jordan, who works with the Every Night Project youth drop in centre, revealed how a group of around 20 youths, many of them drinking, gathered in the vicinity of the skate park, which was being used by skaters and scooter riders, on Thursday night.

“I think the oldest ones were probably about 20 or 21,” he said. “There were a lot of them drinking and one threw a bottle straight into the skate park and shouted offensive comments.

“No one was injured thankfully, however there was glass over the skate park so someone could have fallen on it.”

Jordan (19) said some of the skaters told him how an older teenager had also come into the park and urinated down one of the ramps.

“The facility itself is fine, but if things like this keep happening it’s going to turn people away from it and someone will end up injured. It could be something like a cut from broken glass or it could be much more severe. This needs to be monitored and it needs to stop,” he said.

“We will be speaking to the council about how we can stop this anti-social behaviour so people of all ages can put this facility to good use without the fear of being attacked.”

A PSNI spokesman confirmed that local officers received a report of youths drinking and smashing bottles in the park at around 9:30pm on Thursday.

“Police attended and checked the area, but the youths had already left the park,” he said.