Quad Bikes Tear Up Football Pitch

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Quad Bikes Tear Up Football Pitch: Pitches at Solway Banks in Brynteg were damaged again by tyre tracks at the weekend, leading to Brymbo Lodge FC coach Kieran Howard to hit out at the vandals for ruining children’s football.

He says they are also putting lives including their own in danger with reckless behaviour. He added that the Brymbo and Brynteg area is suffering anti-social behaviour being caused by youths, some of whom he believes may even have played for his club in the past, and has urged them to think about the consequences of their actions.

Coaches, youngsters and their parents were left dismayed when they turned up to pitch two at Solway Banks this weekend and found it had been cut up again by a vehicle.

“It looks like they have come through the back way, where there are no defences against cars, bikes or quads”, Mr Howard said.

“Talking to a few of the lads it looks like quad bike tyre marks and we’ve had problems with four-by-four vehicles in the past.

“We have more than 200 players at the club, it is affecting them all from the under-six’s upwards and stuff like this is going to hamper their opportunities.

“The club is a community hub and this is the kids’ green space. We all meet up – parents, kids and volunteers and to come here and see this, it’s sad.

“I don’t know how long it’s going to take to repair and I don’t know what is going to be done about it.”

Mr Howard added that there had been problems with anti-social behaviour in the area of late, and felt he had to speak up – with concerns about the dangers of vehicles being used in an area where children play.

He said: “A lot of anti-social behaviour is going on over that way. This follows on from the problems we had on Bonfire Night.

“I’ve already asked for a zebra crossing to be put in because you have to cross the road to get from pitch to pitch.

“As a local I’m sad to see what is happening to the reputation of this area. A small minority is giving it a really bad name at the moment.

“People come here to play from all around, Brymbo, New Broughton, Pentre Broughton and other villages.

“Some of the people involved in this behaviour could have family who play for the club and possibly even played for us themselves when they were younger, so I don’t know why they’re doing it.

“Perhaps they think its funny but they aren’t thinking of the consequences. Someone’s going to get hurt and a child could lose their life up there through reckless behaviour.

“I just want them to think about the consequences of their actions.”

Councillor David A Bithell lead member environment and transport said: “Vandalism of football facilities and fields causes disruption to those who play and use these facilities.

“I hope those responsible are caught and made to make good any damage.”

Gwenfro County Councillor Nigel Williams added that he was working on solutions to try and prevent vehicles getting on to the pitches.

He said: “I have already asked Streetscene to put some obstruction at the entrance to stop vehicles gaining access.”

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Trime’s Tax Efficient Method For Cleaning Plant & Equipment

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Trime’s Tax Efficient Method For Cleaning Plant & Equipment: The safe and thorough cleaning of plant and equipment for construction, agricultural and similar equipment is pre-requisite operation. The environmentally safe containment and removal of mud, soil and similar contaminates can become a problem, particularly for those firms that do not have access to an outside yard.

In the past, the expenditure involved to install a permanent tank, which invariably involves ground excavation, made this exercise cost prohibitive.  However, the tax allowable, Government backed, water efficient enhanced capital allowances (ECA) scheme, has meant that firms can now set up a Trime X-Splash wash bay and place the investment against their annual corporation tax bill.

Trime's Tax Efficient Method For Cleaning Plant & Equipment

The Trime X-Splash wash bay is listed on the Water Technology List (WTL) which promotes products that encourage sustainable water use and rewards businesses for investing in them through the ECA scheme. The ECA allows a business to offset the cost of purchasing eligible plant and machinery against its taxable profits. The Trime X-Splash (models X1 and X2) were approved and added to the WTL in November 2017. They are the only wash bays of this type that are listed and now that access is closed to new entrants, this means that the X-Splash is the single system that is eligible under this scheme. http://www.watertechnologylist.co.uk

Paul Hay, managing director of Trime UK said, “If a company invests and installs one of our X-Splash wash bays they can claim for the full expenditure against their tax bill. Several of our clients have already successfully completed their applications and we are always on hand to help with the procedure if necessary.”

The Trime X-Splash wash bay is an ecological, flexible cleaning system for most types of plant and machinery. It prevents soil pollution and contamination of drains, from oil, grease, and similar chemical contaminants. The X-Splash has four factors that distinguishes it from other washing systems; 1. A recycling process so that the water is contained and reused: 2. A filtering system that ensures no contaminates are discharged accidently: 3. Overall water usage reduction:  4. A fully portable/relocatable set-up.  Trime UK offer a complete delivery, installation and training programme for all purchasers of the X-Splash system. They have recently produced a comprehensive training video, which details all the features and benefits of the X-Splash.

The environmental qualities of their X-Splash Wash Bay have been formally recognised by the internationally respected campaigners, The Green Organisation.

Trime UK Limited is an environmentally conscious company that supplies many of the leading UK firms with eco-sensitive LED site lighting equipment. The Trime Group is regarded as one of the leading suppliers of powered LED lighting sets to the worldwide construction and event markets. The company is now extending its line of equipment to encompass a range of environmentally sustainable equipment built specifically for industry. The X-Splash is their flagship product in this expanding range.

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Vandals Leave Pitch Out Of Action

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Vandals Leave Pitch Out Of Action: An east end football club which encourages men over 30 to get fit is out of action until next year, thanks to heartless vandals who ruined the pitch.

Glasgow Titans have a pitch in Tollcross, and use it for training and games as part of a weight loss programme.

The club shared the bad news on Facebook that the pitch is now unusable, thanks to deep track marks caused by an off-road vehicle.

The post reads: “It’s a huge blow for our club as we worked very hard to find a settled home where the club could train and play our home games. With enquiries being made for funding looking to improve the facilities around the pitch, it’s frustrating to say the least that this needs to be put on hold due to this act of mind-numbing vandalism.

“Given what was used to damage the pitch, it had to come from within the very community we are helping which is completely baffling as to why someone would do this.”

The Glasgow Titans was set up to get east end men back into exercise, promoting weight loss and a boost to mental health, and hoping to tackle low life expectancy in some areas of the city.

With no owners or shareholders to fall back on, there’s no set date as to when the Titans can return to their pitch – but members have called upon local businesses and organisations to help where they can.

The Facebook post ends: “The club will fulfill all our home fixtures and will continue to schedule more if the opportunity arises. It just means we have to move around a bit, pay a bit extra, until the pitch can be repaired next year. No one will stand in our way in our battle to improve our health.”

If you can help put them back on track then get in touch via the Glasgow Titans Facebook page , or by emailing glasgowtitansfc@gmail.com

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Tributes Paid To Popular Groundsman

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Tributes Paid To Popular Groundsman: Tributes have been paid to a popular football groundsman who has lost his battle with cancer, aged 87.

Adam Grant, of Tillymaud, near Udny, gave his tender loving care to the North Lodge Park pitch at Formartine United for more than three decades – despite losing a hand in a tragic farm accident, aged 31.

For his many years of dedication to the community, Adam was awarded the MBE in the Queen’s honours list in June 1996.

He travelled with loved ones to a Buckingham Palace garden party in 1997 – one of his proudest moments, said his son, Colin.

According to Colin, another of his dad’s best memories was enjoying a day out at the home of Manchester United for his 80th birthday.

“He wanted to go on the pitch to see if it measured up to North Lodge Park – like he had done with all the Highland League grounds – but he wasn’t allowed as it was a match day.

“We still had a great day though,” said Colin.

Mr Grant worked for many years as a farm grieve and suffered a horrific injury to his right hand in 1962 when it became trapped in a combine harvester.

After receiving medical care, he slowly recovered with the help of a false arm fitted with gadgets to help him work.

Colin said: “It was a horrible thing to happen, but my dad was extremely brave. The doctor gave him a scolding and said ‘you have to live your life’ and he went back to work.”

His dedication was such that, aged 66, Adam was given an MBE in recognition of his services to agriculture in Aberdeenshire.

“He found out through the post and couldn’t quite believe it,” said Colin.

“Going down to the palace was such a proud day.”

Upon his retirement in 1996, Adam turned his attention to tending land of a different kind, as a football groundsman. Colin said that, in an era of less high-tech equipment than now, his father would “beg, borrow or steal” machinery from farming contacts so he could keep North Lodge Park at its best.

He added: “The pitch was his pride and joy. He used to get irritated when players would do certain pre-match training drills and ruin the surface with their studs. He kept the pitch looking pristine.”

As a huge Aberdeen FC fan, Adam travelled with Colin to Gothenburg in 1983 to watch them beat Real Madrid in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final.

Adam passed on the groundsman role in 2014 and was sadly diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. He died at Roxburghe House on October 30.

“It’s incredibly sad to have lost him, but I’m glad he is no longer in pain,” said Colin.

Adam, husband of the late Sheila, leaves son Colin, daughter Maureen, grandchildren Gordon, Craig and Russell and great-grandchildren Teigan, Raegan and Amerah.

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Industry Award For Edgbaston

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Industry Award For Edgbaston: Warwickshire head groundsman Gary Barwell and his team at Edgbaston have been awarded two of the biggest grounds industry accolades by the Institute of Groundsmanship.

The groundstaff, who received global recognition for their work in the summer on England’s Test match against India and throughout the 2018 domestic season, were named Professional Cricket Grounds Team of the Year at the IOG Awards at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.

Barwell was also presented with the awards’ marquee accolade of Groundsman of the Year, which represents groundstaff across a variety of sports and industries.

 He said: “My team have worked incredibly hard in the most challenging conditions over the last 12 months and are always striving to produce the very best pitch, outfield and practice facilities for all cricket at Edgbaston, whether it’s for a Test match watched by millions of people around the world or a friendly match.

“There are some exceptionally talented people working across grounds care in cricket and we are regularly in touch to discuss new ideas and best practice across our profession. For our team to be recognised with these awards by our industry peers is a great honour.”

The IOG was originally founded in 1934 and aims to be the leading professional organisation for grounds management .

“Having this year suffered extreme weather conditions, with the winter’s ‘Beast from the East’ through to this summer’s unprecedented record heatwave, the climate has tested groundsmen to their limits,” said IOG chief executive Geoff Webb.

“It has not been easy, yet we have seen how fantastic our profession is and this year’s awards had a fantastic array of nominees, who have all achieved very high standards.”

The glittering awards ceremony is the tenth to be staged by the IOG and the Edgbaston groundstaff were also recognised at the 2013 event as winner of Professional Cricket Grounds Team of the Year.

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