COUNCIL chiefs have defended their decision to spend £20,000 on repairing a city centre fountain which was damaged by skateboarders.

The fountain, in Parliament Street, is shrouded in fencing and tarpaulins while engineers work to restore it ahead of a grand reopening next month.

The cost of the repairs has been placed at £20,000, with an extra £6,000 for repairs to the surrounding seating.

But City of York Council said the revamped fountain would include measures designed to deter skateboarders in the future.

News that the fountain is to return to action was today greeted warmly by shoppers and visitors to the city.

Margaret Miles, of Heworth, said: "I had no idea it was so much to repair it, but it's a question of stopping it from happening again.

"If it's a one-off, then that's all right, but surely there are enough police around to put signs up and tell the skateboarders they can be fined."

David Rust, from Hull, said: "It's a lovely fountain, a centrepiece for the square, so it's good that they're repairing it.

"I reckon they should sue the skateboarders if it costs so much; they're a menace to society."

But Julie Tomkinson, from Fulford, suggested there were "better things" to spend the money on, including a new zebra crossing outside St Oswald's School.

Calls for the fountain to be protected in the future came from Liberal Democrat councillor Andrew Waller.

He said: "It's a matter of providing facilities for young people to skateboard, as well as building in protection to the street furniture most easily damaged, as £26,000 is a lot of money to simply use on repairs." A council spokesman confirmed that the fountain was to be reopened next month by the Lord Mayor of York, Coun David Horton. The spokesman said: "There will be measures to deter skateboarders by thickening slabs, reducing overhangs and providing ornamental railings around the coping stones. The money is not excessive, as the fountain is being remodelled, not just refurbished."

Updated: 15:07 Friday, August 23, 2002