She has been tipped to make millions, but teenage skateboard star Lucy Adams says she's skint.

According to a list of 21 young British multi-millionaires-in-waiting compiled by The Royal Bank of Scotland, Lucy, 19, of Rushams Road, Horsham, should have earned £10 million by 2020.

She appears in the list alongside famous faces such as actress Keira Knightley, 18 (Bend It Like Beckham and Pirates Of The Caribbean), football star Wayne Rooney, 17, and Richard Branson's 18-year-old son Sam.

But the former pupil of Millais School for Girls, who has won two competitions in Britain and came eighth in the Skateboard World Cup in Australia, says there is very little money in the sport.

Lucy said: "I really don't understand how they can possibly say I am going to be rich.

"I might have been getting a lot of coverage lately through my skateboarding in newspapers and magazines but I am not earning any money from it.

"I was sponsored by Sprite for six months to promote the Sprite Urban Games which took place in July but that is it.

"At the moment I don't have any money at all. I'm going to be taking a student loan out soon and will probably be about £12,000 in debt when I graduate!"

Far from rolling in it, Lucy's dad Alan is actually having to close down his skateboard shop in Queen Street, Horsham, due to lack of business.

She said: "We are just about keeping it open because we can't sell the lease but we will close. There's just no money in it."

Lucy started skateboarding at 13 after a skate park was built behind Crawley Leisure Centre where she used to go swimming.

Her position on the rich list is based on the sport taking off in Britain. Top stars in America can earn millions and it is thought the situation will become similar in this country over the next decade.

But Lucy disagrees, saying a combination of poor facilities and lack of interest has seen the sport slide in popularity.

She said: "The image of skateboarding is quite mainstream now and you see it about in everyday life with the clothes a lot of the celebrities are wearing.

"But the industry itself in this country is in a terrible state. A lot of skate parks around here are disgusting and neglected, with needles and things lying around.

"In Crawley we were able to design our own park and while it is not big and amazing it is a lot better than most. Most councils get people in who don't have a clue about skateboarding because they are cheaper."

Lucy plans to continue skateboarding when she goes to Manchester University in September to start a leisure and management degree.

If she does earn the millions predicted, she says she'll put as much back into the sport as possible, as well as reopening her dad's shop.

Tuesday September 2, 2003