TEENAGERS and parents in Portishead have vowed to find a way to get the town’s youth centre open at weekends.

Young people say they are fed up with being asked to move on when they hang around shopping areas and public buildings to socialise with friends at weekends, but say there is nowhere else for them to go that does not cost a fortune.

Parents are now getting involved to help the youngsters raise funds to pay for extended opening hours at the caf� based at the newly-refurbished Harbour Road centre.

Helen Green who has two teenage boys said: “It’s crazy our children are hanging around on street corners in the cold when we have a fantastic purpose-built centre sitting empty.”

Parents say their children like to meet up in groups of 12 or more and while the youngsters are welcome to bring friends home, the large numbers cannot always be accommodated.

Aaron Cain, aged 12, said: “Some parents have agreed to help us come up with a plan of how to raise enough money to get the coffee bar open on Saturday afternoons, which is exactly what we want.

“We just hope the managers will approve our plans and will be able to find staff to work on Saturdays.”

The youths are currently drawing up a plan which involves them raising around �240 per month to staff the caf� from 1-5pm on Saturdays for a trial period.

Aaron added: “We have to act now because we need somewhere to go during the colder months, it is not such an issue during the summer.”

The group plans to present its proposals to Portishead Youth Centre management committee before the end of the month.

Ros Cruse, chairman of the committee said: “We would never turn the young people away and will be pleased to listen to their proposals.”