A north-east sports centre has appealed to youths who tried to start a fire in the building to get involved at the facility.
The group of youngsters were caught trying to start a blaze in the toilets of the Bennachie Leisure Centre in Insch on Wednesday night.
A member of staff confronted them and they fled without managing to do any damage.
It now means under-18s will be prohibited from using the centre unless they are accompanied by an adult.
But in an unusual move, the facility has extended an olive branch to the youths responsible.
Stuart Corsar, manager of the centre, said: “There’s been a lot of work done in transforming the centre over the past couple of months.
“It’s maybe just a case of them being bored but if they are bored what do they want us to do?
“We want them to tell us how we can improve what we’re offering so they will come along.
“I have got a fair good idea of who it is responsible so I’m planning on speaking to the youth when I am out and about and ask what we can to do help.
“There’s been a couple of stupid incidents in recent months so these short-term measures are in place for the safety of staff and other users.”
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The centre came within just weeks of being closed last year after it ran into financial troubles.
A crowdfunding campaign was launched in a desperate attempt to save the site, which had suffered from a dwindling membership.
However, thanks to a massive fundraising campaign, the group managed to raise the funds with just days to spare.
In the 12 months since a new board has been appointed which has introduced a number of new courses and activities to breathe new life into the facility.
