A skatepark in Eye has been closed down by councillors after a prolonged misuse of the site.

Eye Town Council met for an extraordinary meeting on Thursday night to discuss the short term future of the park which is located at the Community Centre in Magdalen Street.

It decided to temporarily close the park due to what it described as a "prolonged misuse" of the site with problems ranging from anti-social behaviour to public indecency and the taking of illegal substances on the premises.

The council also said that there had been incidents of motorbikes and cars being used on the park.

Mike Smith, chair of the council's environment committee, said there had been problems with a number of youngsters at the park for the past two years.

"We have had to close it for safety reasons," added Mr Smith.

"The children who want to use it as a skatepark can't use it.

"We have a duty of care for people who want to use it as a skatepark."

Mr Smith said that he had witnessed some of the problems first-hand at the park with teenagers having been nearly hit by BMX users after choosing to sit on the ramps.

The park is covered by CCTV cameras and the council said it was working with the police to prosecute people where possible.

Inspector Mark Jackson of Suffolk police said: "We are aware of concerns regarding past incidents of antisocial behaviour in the vicinity of the Skate Park and fully understand the distress such activity can have on the community.

"While we have not received reports of recent acts of antisocial behaviour, we would like to remind the public that we will take positive, appropriate action against those who are unwilling to respect their communities.

"We carry out regular patrols to monitor activity in the area, and work closely with the parish council and town clerks to understand and identify any problem areas.

"Members of the public are also vital in our ability to tackle this issue and we therefore urge them to continue reporting any issues to police to enable us to take action against those committing antisocial behaviour or other criminal activity."

The skatepark's future is set to be discussed when the full council meets on September 18.