A KEIGHLEY woman campaigning to find a site where young off-road bikers can enjoy the sport legally has appealed for help with gathering petition signatures.

Amanda Bower, who lives in Braithwaite, said young bikers – including those who are currently having their machines confiscated by the police – deserve somewhere local where they can hone their talent.

"I don't want them riding around on the road, but they should have somewhere they can go instead," she added. "Just confiscating their bikes is not the answer."

Mrs Bower, who lived in Denholme before moving to Keighley, previously launched a campaign to re-open the Flappit former quarry site to off-road bikers.

However, she said she has become frustrated by the lack of response from the quarry's owners.

She adds that young off-road bike owners, who don't have access to a 4x4 or trailer to transport their bikes to the quarry, would struggle to reach this out of town site.

She said there is plenty of open land in or next to Keighley and Bradford housing estates which would be ideal for bikers to use.

"If they wear safety gear and sign a disclaimer then it should be possible. But at the moment all people seem to want to do is put obstacles in the way of this.

"There are a lot of kids round here tearing around on bikes, but they are not bad kids. Many probably have a lot of talent."

Mrs Bower began her petition calling for a new off-road biking site in 2012, arguing that this would help cut the number of illegal riders on the district's roads. She has accumulated more than 500 signatures on the paper version of the petition.

"I can take the petition to Braithwaite and Bracken Bank," she said. "But I could do with support from people prepared to take it door to door in Bradford as well.

"At the moment I'm doing all this on my own, but I don't want to give up."

People prepared to help Mrs Bower collect petition signatures can e-mail amandabower93@yahoo.com to get in touch with her.