SPECIALIST free running equipment is set to be installed in Salisbury despite the council deferring a decision on the potential location.

It comes after Wiltshire Council was approached by a group of teenagers who wanted a Parkour (free running) site to be installed in a city park.

Parkour was developed in France during the 1980s and its popularity has increased in recent years with the idea being that participants go between two randomly chosen locations as nimbly as possible.

At the moment there is no permanent facility in Wiltshire with many youngsters travelling to Andover to practice.

Wiltshire Council offered to fund the site but asked Salisbury City Council's permission to use Churchill Gardens due to it already having a skate park and a multi-use games area and its close proximity to Wiltshire College.

The city council would then have to pay for maintenance but depending on the scale it could yet need planning permission.

Yet Cllr Mark Timbrell voiced his concern over the potential safety of the site.

He said: "We are opening up an area where children can use this equipment without supervision. It will also attract people who are coming back from the pub. I am all for supporting this but for me it is quite risky."

Other members questioned as to whether a more suitable Salisbury could be found and asked officers to look for alternative sites despite agreeing in principal for a Salisbury park to be used.

Cllr Matt Dean added: "If Wiltshire Council are serious about funding this we should take them up on the offer before they spend it elsewhere in the county."

Once the site has been agreed, potential funding streams will be looked into and the council hope to install by the end of summer.