ICE rink campaigners took the streets of Winchester to drum up support for a new winter sports facility in the city.

Members of the Winchester Ice Sports Association received hundreds of signatures from local residents which they will present to the city council in support of proposals for an Olympic-sized ice arena and curling rink built on the old depot site at Bar End.

WISA secretary, Edna Boden said that they decided to ‘take to the streets’ to gauge local people’s responses, which she said had thus far been phenomenal.

“It’s just something they want. People are asking about the leisure centre and how it would compliment that, and a lot of people telling us there’s a lack of things for young people to do in the city and an ice rink would help to alleviate that

“The leisure centre scheme has reached a crucial point and we want to see where that goes because the depot site is the perfect place for a rink.” she added.

Vice president, and ice dancing coach of 20 years, Brian Cox said that a rink would not only bring people to Winchester to skate but also for ice shows and could even lead to a formation of an ice hockey team. “If we could have that in a place like Winchester it would be wonderful.

“Currently the closest rink is Gosport, which is a long way to travel. Basingstoke is in a poor state of repair. We need a rink here.”