A MOBILE skateboarding park set up with £75,000 in grants has been used for only eight days in five months.

The facility, which packs away into a van the size of a horsebox, was bought by Stockton Borough Council in July.

It was intended to provide young people with a safe place to practice their sport, following complaints from the public about skateboarding near the Splash leisure centre in Stockton.

So far, it has only been brought out for one week during half-term, and on one other day.

Under a neighbourhood regeneration scheme, the project has received £75,000 in grants, which included the money needed to buy the equipment as well for its day-to-day running. It was given £30,000 by the National Lottery.

A spokesman for Stockton council said bad weather was responsible for the fact that more sessions had not been organised, and that the grant conditions did not specify how often it should be used.

Since August, the skate park has been managed by Tribal Enterprises, a non-profit-making company responsible for the management of Stockton council's leisure facilities.

Steve Chaytor, the managing director of Tribal Enterprises, said that five months was an acceptable time to get the project organised on a regular basis.

Mr Chaytor said: "There has not been any waste of public money at all.

"The equipment has come, we have assessed how best to use it and we have been working with people at Stockton council to decide what the long-term use of the scheme should be.

"Everyone seems happy with that."

Mr Chaytor said that from January 8, the equipment would be available for public use every Saturday, and that the project was one of many managed by the company on behalf of Stockton council.

Councillor Suzanne Fletcher, who represents the Elm Tree ward, said: "It is not good enough that it has taken this long. It does seem that it has arrived and there was no clear plan. It has been done in a very closed way with no proper discussion."