THE first ever skate and BMX festival organised by the young members of Pewsey Platform at the weekend was a resounding success.

Blessed with one of the hottest days of the year on Saturday the Back to Basics skate/in-line/BMX Jam was a bigger success than its organisers said they could have hoped for.

The Pewsey Platform has been established for about five years as a part of The Shak youth centre at Wilcot Road.

The platform has developed as one of the most highly regarded skateboard, in-lining and BMX facilities in the whole of Wiltshire.

There was concern, however, that support had dwindled over the winter months.

Olly Spence, one of the leading organisers, said: "Any sign of rain or if the surfaces are damp, our skates and bikers won't come out."

Olly and co-organisers Dan Pyle, Tim Burton and Darren Rivers decided that drastic action was needed to reinvigorate the platform.

They hit on the idea of a grand jam day showcasing all the platform activities together with live music and a host of other entertainments for young people.

Tim Burton said: "We had no idea it would be so popular. We spent a couple of months deciding on how the day should run and with the support of the staff at The Shak we organised a programme and prayed for good weather."

Saturday's non-stop sunshine brought out a record attendance at the platform to the delight of the jam organisers and also the Pewsey youth development co-ordinator Ivor Richards.

Mr Richards, manager of The Shak whose encouragement has been one of the reasons for the platform's success, said he was overwhelmed with the response and with the professionalism of all who took part.

He said: "It was amazing. As you looked around you saw young people playing in live bands, young DJs entertaining, young people managing the skating, young people delivering first-aid cover, young people organising the competitions and perhaps as many as 300 young people enjoying the day from across the county and from as far away as Oxford.

"These young people are an absolute credit to themselves and this was probably the best day I have experienced since I started work in Pewsey some five years ago."

As well as the platform being open all day for recreational skating there were a number of competitions with prizes provided by sponsorship by Just Add Water of Swindon and Bertie Mafoon of Marlborough.