A BMX rider is calling for a skate park to be made safer and equipment replaced.

Jack Sparks, 15, uses the track in Promenade Park, Park Drive, Maldon, nearly every evening.

But the teenager, of Hemmings Court, Maldon, said: “The council have had two old, rotten ramps sitting at the side of the skatepark for a year now, and they have just removed the spine ramp that was once there.

“The pump track is very unsafe for children, as I see many kids falling off with no helmets on."

Maldon District Council said the equipment has been inspected and is safe, and £10,000 will be spent on essential refurbishment including re-using some ramps taken from another site.

This is due to be completed before the summer holidays.