MUSLIMS want a purpose-built mosque to call their own because worshippers are forced to pray in the street due to lack of room in the existing buildings.

The Thamesdown Islamic Association has its heart set on a disused site near the North Star roundabout, off Osborne Street.

It says the community was led to believe that the site could have been theirs, but the council has said it made no such promises.

Azim Khan, of the Thames-down Islamic Association, said: "At Friday prayer we are praying in the footpath. It is embarrassing for the local authority and for us."

A specialist architect has designed detailed plans of a large, ornate mosque to accommodate 3,000 people for the North Star site, but there is no guarantee that it will materialise.

The Thamesdown Islamic Association says the council should supply it with land for the building.

"We feel it is the responsibility of the local authority to provide us with a site," said Mr Khan. "We don't expect financial help, just a site.

"It is so important to us that we don't have to be a burden on our neighbours and cause congestion on the street in Broadgreen while at Friday prayer."

The association also said youths behaving anti-socially in the area could be appeased if young people had their own community centre adjoined to the mosque. "We don't have a community centre where our youngsters can study," said Mr Khan.

The two existing mosques in the town, in Broad Street and Manchester Road, are overflowing.

"Both are full to capacity," said Mr Khan. "The Muslim population has grown 100 per cent in the last 10 years in Swindon."

He applauded the work of the Broad Street Area Community Council and the Streets For Living Project, but says the council must do more.

"Now it is the council's responsibility to put their share of effort into the community and provide a site," he said.

"The association's vision is to create a focal point for muslims with Islamic architecture.

"It will be a landmark if they let us build the site near the Oasis and the New College."

A Swindon Council spokeswoman said: "We welcome any discussions with the Muslim community about finding a potential site for the construction of a purpose-built mosque. As yet there have been no formal discussions this year and no site has been identified."