A PUBLIC meeting has been planned to respond to youngsters' concerns about a playground in Nelson which has fallen into disrepair.

More than 100 residents around the play area, at the top of Vernon Street, have backed a campaign to improve it.

Campaigner Frank Allanson, a Labour candidate for the Walverden ward in next month's elections, was approached by youngsters for help in getting the playground upgraded.

He told councillors on the Nelson Committee that the area had suffered vandalism by older children, and had uneven safety flooring which could easily cause people to trip.

He also said the area had been blighted by dog mess.

He added: "It's a very valuable play area and deserving of some new attention.

"It's well used by all parts of the community and lots of children play together there quite happily, which is good to see.

"The problem is there are some older children and mischievious youngsters who like to set fire to things, and once things start going downhill they are even more likely to carry on.

"It's not a case of blaming the council because it's just naturally gone down over the years, but we hope money can be made available to get improvements."

Mr Allanson also suggested that new facilities could be added to the playground, including a fenced ball games area which had been requested by some older children.

Pendle Council parks manager Colin Patten said: "We are aware that this is a particularly popular playground, but also attracts an undesirable element.

"There has been a good deal of vandalism."

He suggested the council could "consult and liaise to try to make some progress and possibly come up with a scheme" for improvements.

Councillors agreed that a public meeting should be held and a report should be sent back to a future meeting of the committee.