Dorchester could be getting a new parkour area at the King's Road playing fields – with the chance of another at the Great Field.

Town councillors have backed the idea for the of the King's Road site after hearing a presentation from two local parkour enthusiasts.

They say the sport, sometimes known as street running, had an enthusiastic following in the town until the pandemic and the closure of the previous facility at the Sandringham sports area.

Informal training sessions were being held and one of the local participants, Travis Verky, 18, has gone on to become internationally known for his skills with thousands of followers on YouTube.

Former Royal Marine Jackson Turner told town councillors he had been involved in parkour training in Dorchester, Weymouth and Poole since 2004/05, working with Travis for around eight years, describing him as one of the best in the world, "a ground-breaking athlete".

Travis told the meeting he used to train at Sandringham almost every day from the age of 13 and would welcome a new parkour area in the town, with King's Road an ideal location.

Mr Turner said that if the area was developed local enthusiasts would be happy to run events there, including regular sessions to introduce youngsters to the sport.

Backing for the use on the town council-owned site was unanimous.

Said Cllr Stella Jones: "I used to enjoy people watching people jumping around at Sandringham but it was just too close to other people."

The town council will now look at a range of designs for the King's Road site and will investigate the costings before a final decision is made.

The meeting heard that talks had also been held about a parkour facility at the Great Field but the discussions had petered out without any decision being made.

Cllr Les Fry said he understood there still were plans for a parkour site at the Poundbury field and said that the town could do with two areas, as they would be on opposite sides of the town.