PRO skateboarder Tony Hawk has backed calls to save a local skatepark due to be replaced by Harrow Council.

Users of Harrow Skatepark, in Byron Park, have been campaigning to save it since plans were announced by the council to build over the site as part of a £36m project to rebuild Harrow Leisure Centre.

Mr Hawk said: "If they feel that the park is truly irreplaceable, then they should keep it."

The Harrow Times interviewed Tony Hawk about the skatepark. Here is what he had to say.

HT: Have you ever used the park and if so what do you think of it?

TH: "I've never been, but I have seen it in magazines and heard about it through the years."

HT: Local skateboarders say parks like this one are not built any more, do you share their appreciation for the older style?

TH: "I do, especially when there are so few that have survived from that era. But I also believe that it is possible to build new parks that incorporate elements of parks from the 1970s. It just takes the right design and construction crew."

HT: The council has put aside £300,000 to build a replacement park but users do not think it is enough. Given the reputation it has gathered among skaters in Britain does this sound like a realistic figure?

TH: "Compared to most parks in the US (I see many park plans come through the Tony Hawk Foundation) that is a healthy budget. I'm not sure it's enough to recreate Harrow, but it could be enough to make a decent park with some 1970s flair."