Pull your skates on as Shropshire sports centre's roller rink work is finally completed

The new roller skating rink at Maurice Chandler Sports Centre in Stoke Heath, near Market Drayton, will be the only one of its kind in Shropshire.

It will be home to Newport Knights roller hockey team, which has played home matches in Leicester for the past five years due to the lack of suitable facilities available locally. Some of the team's players tried out the rink for the first time last night, just hours after work finished.

Work began on December 12 and was expected to finish by the end of January. But the centre came up against hurdles when flooring was delayed and the official launch had to be pushed back. But despite the hiccups, bosses at the centre have been overwhelmed with interest and people hoping to use the new rink.

The project, which was part of a £143,000 investment to improve the centre, was part-funded by a £50,000 grant from Sport England, along with a £54,905 donation from The Armed Forces Community Covenant fund.

Joint centre manager Sarah Cartwright said: "It is really exciting, we are so pleased to have it here finally. It is the only one in Shropshire and we believe it is the second largest in Europe."

Ms Cartwright added: "We have lots of bookings already and we have some competitions already planned.

"We have organised a competition for next weekend and Team GB In-Line Hockey will be coming, splitting into two teams and taking part. Everyone is very excited to use the proper flooring, and the Newport Knights are really looking forward to training on it regularly."

The centre has also installed a new artificial football pitch and insulation for the building as part of the scheme.

Ms Cartwright said: "This will be open all year round just like the badminton courts, and we hope with it being the only one in the area it will be an income for the centre. All the money we make will go right back into making further improvements."