A FUNDRAISING appeal for new skate park facilities has been launched in Petersfield, in a bid to raise around £150,000 for state-of- the-art equipment. But in the same week that fundraisers have been touring the town's schools looking for support, mindless vandals have struck the beleaguered Love Lane skate park yet again. Part of the facilities had to be fenced off last year after an attack by vandals made them dangerous to use. Petersfield Town Council's insurers refused to cover the council for the continued use of that section of the skate park and the fence shut off one half of the equipment. Now vandals have ripped down the fence and gouged a huge hole in the wood at the centre of the ramp. The damage was so severe that police described it as "lethal". Petersfield town councillors have now spent nearly £1,500 repairing damaged fencing and hiring panels. This week contacts officer Peter Jones confirmed that new fencing had been ripped down and added that the condition of the equipment was now "abysmal". He said the hole in the ramp had been there for several weeks and was getting bigger with each vandal attack. "I am trying to get the fencing put back now," he told The Herald, "but the council is also considering other methods of protecting the equipment from further damage." And town councillors, while supporting fundraisers, have warned that continuing vandalism will not help the youngsters get the expensive new facilities they want. The chairman of the town council's grounds committee, Chris Jenner, said this week: "The more vandalism there is to the existing facilities, the less likely it is that there will be anything to replace them, because if there is going to be a history of vandalism, anything else that is put at the skate park will also get vandalised." Nigel Wells from the Festival for Young People, who is leading the fundraising campaign, told The Herald: "It is a shame that the facilities have been vandalised and we do need to find out the names of the individuals responsible, simply because people will not believe that, if new facilities are provided, they will not be vandalised as well. It is going to make fundraising very much more difficult." He added: "We need to find out if it's just one or two youngsters being foolish, because I am quite sure the majority don't want their facilities ruined." With the start of the new school term, Mr Wells has been touring the town delivering letters to parents in a bid to reach the 2,000 young people at school in the town and their families. More than 1,000 letters have already gone out from The Petersfield School and a further 350 have been distributed to parents of Herne Junior School children. Another 300 were handed out to the parents of Petersfield Infant School and more than 100 have gone to the families of children at Sheet Primary School. Young people are being urged to save 10p a week for 10 weeks during the summer term and donate it to the skate park fund. It is the start of the long haul to raise a large sum of money for new facilities. Petersfield town councillors have earmarked £20,000 from developers' contributions for new facilities. Now the new skate park workingparty set up by town councillors is hoping to bid for £15,000 from East Hampshire District Council's community initiatives fund. If they are to be successful, town councillors will have to show they are willing to put funds towards the scheme and skateboarders themselves will have to support it by raising another £3,500. "It's time for the young people to put their money where their mouths are," said Mr Wells. "At this stage, the amount raised is of secondary importance to the numbers who contribute. We would ask those not particularly interested in skateboarding to include themselves and contribute, because they too may need the support of others for their particular leisure facility in the future." "Other fundraising activities to raise the balance of the £3,500 will be held, but the ability to state that the skate park has been supported financially by over 2,000 young people in Petersfield would be a very powerful point to make in all grant applications." Mr Wells told The Herald: "I am saying I do not want £2,000 from one person, I want £1 from 2,000 people, because it indicates a better level of commitment. "Applications for a grant will be enhanced if young people can demonstrate a desire for and a commitment towards the project." He said the skate park working party, which consists of three councillors, two officers, six young skateboard enthusiasts and representatives of the Festival for Young People, was currently working on a new design. "Young people have listed the features they would like and five contractors have been identified and asked for quotes. An agreed design and budgetary costs should be available by the end of July." Mr Wells added: "Every new facility needs funding and, while large sums will be raised through grants from local authorities, the lottery and other organisations, many donors require beneficiaries to raise money themselves. "It is very difficult for the council to raise money from the public, as opposed to getting grants," he told The Herald. "We felt it would be easier for an organisation other than the town council, so the Festival For Young People offered to take on the fundraising campaign." He said it would be difficult to say exactly how much would have to be raised until all contractors had given their presentations and the young people had chosen the equipment they wanted. The specialists had been asked to quote in three areas: £50,000, £100,000 and £150,000, said Mr Wells. "I would think we would be talking somewhere near the higher figure."