Scooter Park

Users of mobility scooters in Hartlepool have finally got the brand new scooter park that they have been demanding for years. And local resident Mrs Edna Womble, 72, is delighted.

"I'm delighted," she told us. "At last I've got somewhere I can try out all my latest moves. "It's no fun trying to practise a San Francisco Flip or Ollie Airwalk in the street. Last week I tried to do an Incredible Frontside-Backside in the back alley, but the front wheel got tangled up in my shopping, the scooter span out of control and I ended up wedged headfirst in next door's wheelie bin."

The new park replaces an older amenity which was closed down some years ago after it was used by a gang dealing in illegal cod liver oil capsules and butter toffees. And Mrs Womble - who is genuinely familiar with all the tricks she mentioned in the last paragraph, and didn't just copy a load of skateboarding terms from Wikipedia - is pleased that the council have finally paid some attention to the needs of older people.

"Well, the council have finally paid some attention to the needs of older people," she told us. "And I'm pleased about that. For too long senior citizens have been branded anti-social delinquents, just because we want to bust a few moves outside the shopping centre. At least now I can do the Switchfoot Pogo as much as I like without being hassled by the Babylon."