Skateboarders are a step closer to getting a long-awaited area.

Five companies have been asked to put in tenders by the end of this month for the facility in Thame. Once an order has been placed, the steel-on-wood equipment will be set up on the new recreation land by the ring road opposite Lea Park Estate play area.

The skateboard group, set up by former mayor Mike Le Mesurier, has been given 15,760 by the National Lottery, 7,500 by South Oxfordshire District Council's community trust fund, 7,000 by Thame Town Council, 5,000 by the Trust for Oxfordshire's Environment and 500 by the Thame Welfare Trust.

The youngsters themselves have raised about 5,000 to fund the skate park.