CHIPPENHAM Youth Council has described a scheme to introduce entry swipe-cards to local youth clubs as racially inflammatory.

Youth council members are horrified by the application form, which asks the applicant to state their cultural background.

Members have been told they must provide the information, or they will be denied access to the club. Furthermore there is no guarantee of confidentiality.

"It's a good idea in principle," said youth council member, Steve Cope, 18, "but we don't understand why they need to know our racial backgrounds. Young kids shouldn't be forced to categorise themselves.

"The moment they start identifying themselves as black or white, they'll begin to view themselves as different from one another."

Fellow youth councillor Cat Murphy, 17, agreed: "They put posters all over the walls telling kids not to be racist, then they go and do this. They're encouraging racism by making people define themselves."

The Bridge Centre in Chippenham want to introduce the entry cards for security reasons.

Staff say around 30 to 40 teenagers attend the club every night, and the wide range of activities on offer means it is often hard to keep track of who is attending.

The swipe cards were successfully piloted in Pewsey, where they allowed youth workers to identify the areas of society youth services were not reaching.

Sandie Webb said: "The youth council was very upset about the form. Nowadays we are all English or British, all equal and do not need to be pigeon holed to have to say what culture or race.

"The worst thing is that if the young people don't fill in the form completely they cannot get a card and are excluded from the club. Also there is nothing to say that this information will not be used elsewhere."

A spokesman for Wiltshire County Council said: "The form provides information for a data base. The question about cultural background follows the Racial Equality Commission guidelines and is a standard national requirement. Ofsted also needs the information.

"These days because of the different cultural background in schools we need to make sure our youth club membership reflects the community and we are providing the right services for the people using the youth club."

The form has been used in Pewsey for almost a year and more than 700 young people have filled the form in. "We have had no problems in Pewsey and if people don't want to fill it in they don't have to," said the county council spokesman.

For more information contact Dan Callaghan on 07944 967569, or email c_y_c@another.com.