SKATEBOARDERS have hit back at critics who are calling for skating in Bournemouth Square to be banned.

Borough councillors are considering imposing a Public Space Protection Order to prohibit skateboarding in the Square, after a woman suffered a broken arm when a skater collided with her earlier this month.

Yesterday afternoon, a group of skateboarders, ranging in age from 15 to 23 years old, gathered to state the case for continuing their hobby in the town centre.

Callum MacDermott, from Southbourne, said: "When people get injured on the roads it is regarded as an isolated incident, there's no one calling for cars to be banned.

"This incident was the same, it was just an accident.

"I have been skating in the Square for ten years. At first the police used to move us on, but then I think they realised we are no trouble and stopped.

"We are always aware of our surroundings, and go later on when it is quiet. We try to stay out of the way of people passing through.

"The police said that between January 1 and July 16 this year they have had no complaints related to skateboarding in the Square. We get people stopping to watch what's going on."

Mr MacDermott, 23, said the Square was an ideal location for the skaters due to its smooth surface, although he said they might go elsewhere if there were a suitable facility nearby.

He cited an area of the Lower Gardens which used to be popular before the surface was changed.

"This is like a meeting place for everyone to come together and enjoy our hobby," he said.

"The Square is supposed to be a public space, not just somewhere for drunks to wander through."

Georgie Drake, 37, whose son Charlie, 15, is one of the Square skaters, said: "I think it's good that they are down there, skateboarding is an outlet for them, it is like music, and better than drugs or that sort of thing.

"They aren't out drinking or spraying graffiti, they are just skating."

Dorset Police says concerns about the skateboarders have come from Bournemouth council and town rangers rather than members of the public, and that criminalising skating in the Square would be "disproportionate".

The force is planning an event called the Big Skate to raise awareness of other skating venues and to encourage safe skating.