Tag Archive for: Damage

Pitches Ruined By Tyre Damage

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Pitches Ruined By Tyre Damage: A Renton football club were left devastated this weekend after Scottish Power vans ploughed through their pitches – leaving them unplayable.

A coach of Renton Craigandro FC spotted the vans from Scottish Power Energy Network on Friday as they drove through the grass at Tontine Park leaving large muddy tyre tracks behind them.

Club coach Joe Mulvenna told the Lennox Herald: “One of our coaches was passing by and saw the Scottish Power vans on our pitch.

“They decided to traipse vans and machinery over our land without even asking us.”

The damage to the turf forced the club to relocate a weekend match, as they feared the pitch damage could lead to injured players.

Joe said: “One of the pitches could not have any spectators and we couldn’t risk the kids falling through the ditches and breaking an ankle.

“Scottish Power have a pylon at the top and they have authority to access it. Their only way of getting at the work area is through our land.

“Obviously we have no problem with them going in – if there is a problem or there is a power cut in the Vale then they have to fix it.

“We are just asking for them to be a bit more considerate.”

Scottish Power left a digger machine on the land which the club had said they would hold until remedial work to repair the turf is carried out.

Joe said: “I have since met with their regional manager and they have given their word that they will make it right again.

“It was positive. We shook hands and he promised to get the pitch fixed.

“They left a machine on our land and until we got agreement that they would come to do remedial work, we would not be giving their digger back – it was a bit of a Mexican stand-off.”

Scottish Power, have now been in touch with the club and offered to mend the grass while also making a donation to the club.

Joe said: “Scottish Power have confirmed they accept responsibility for damages to grounds.

“They have agreed to make good any damage at their own cost and make a donation to club for inconvenience caused.”

The firm, who run a pylon from the site, have gained access via the pitches in the past.

However, Joe said previous vans have always put down matting to ensure the grass is preserved.

This is not the first time the club, which has almost 300 young players, have had their pitch damaged.

We previously reported how Renton Craigandro was targeted by vandals who set fire to their pitches. The club were forced to foot the bill and fix the damage themselves as well as relocate their matches.

Joe said: “We have had a history of vandalism on the pitch and, if we had not seen the Scottish Power vans, I would have thought it had been joy riders ruining the pitch.”

A Scottish Power spokewoman said: “We apologise for the damage caused to the playing field, which was unfortunately exacerbated by the recent spell of bad weather. Work still needs to be carried out to an underground cable on this site which is critical to the overall reliability of the network in this area.

“We have assured Mr Mulvenna that we will reinstatement the playing field to the original condition and will meet with him shortly to discuss the works going forward.”

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Vandals Damage Prestigious Golf Club

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Vandals Damage Prestigious Golf Club: Vandals on quad bikes have ripped up turf on the greens at a local course while horrified golfers looked on.

The wrecking spree has caused £5,000 worth of damage at Howley Hall Golf Club in Morley just weeks before the start of the summer season.

The prestigious course claims to have the best four finishing holes in Yorkshire and hosts the PGA Yorkshire Open Championship.

Two men in their late teens or early 20s rode a quad bike onto the course at around 5pm on Tuesday when golfers were still playing.

They churned up the 14th hole while members were teeing off, before riding onto the 16th green and causing further damage.

They then fled in the direction of Woodkirk. The club’s head professional Ryan Rastall said:-

“It’s a real disappointment having to deal with this any time of the year, but especially so close to the start of our main golfing season (April to October). The golf course will take time to recover and it will cost a significant amount of money to repair the damage, but as a club we feel for our members and guests that enjoy playing here.”

It’s not the first time a golf club in Leeds has been targeted by nuisance bikers.

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Vandals Damage Cricket Pitch

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Vandals Damage Cricket Pitch: The pitch at Rainham Cricket Club has been vandalised by a group who took to the surface on motorbikes.

Tyre marks and skid marks were left on the wicket after a group of youths were seen on Thursday, August 16 on off-road bikes driving across the wicket.

The club was due to have a match yesterday afternoon but the bad weather meant it had to be rained off.

One member of the club was later walking his dog when he saw the youths, and saw the damage that they had left.

Fortunately other members have managed to save the day and have tried to repair the damage so that the games planned for the weekend can still go ahead.

Club captain, Jas Hothi, said that he was frustrated with what they had done, but praised club members for coming together to repair the ground.

He said: “It’s obviously really annoying but there’s not much we could have done about it.

“We see them hanging around on their bikes but you never expect this to happen.”

The captain said that member Ian Little, and his son Ben had been down to the ground to try and patch up the mess that the vandals had left.

Jas said that the club is still waiting for confirmation that the games planned for weekend will still be played at home, but said that the pitch was looking a lot better thanks to club members and the groundsman.

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Club’s Anger Over Pitch Damage

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Club’s Anger Over Pitch Damage: A council “must be held responsible” after race cars drove over a brand new football pitch costing thousands of pounds, an Irish League club has said.

Ballymena United said it was “saddened” at the incident during a stock car race at the Ballymena Showgrounds on Friday.

The venue is owned by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, which recently laid a new pitch after a major investment.

It said it was “deeply disappointed” by the incident.

The council spokesman said that “measures put in place to protect the new surface were inadequate” and that remedial work was being carried out on the pitch on Saturday.

The incident happened during a Ballymena Raceway stock car event on Friday night. The council leases the stadium to both the football club and Ballymena Raceway.

Ballymena United’s vice-chairman Don Stirling told BBC News NI that “stock cars have every right to be there” but the two sports are “just not compatible”.

“I honestly don’t know what the solution is, but the council have to be held responsible,” he said.

“They can’t keep cars off the pitch because if they veer off the track they have nowhere to go.

“They put down truck tyres (on Friday night) but they would have need massive tractor tyres to stop cars coming on the pitch.”

Mr Stirling said the new pitch had cost £250,000 and that the club had agreed to postpone any home games until 6 October so the new pitch could bed in.

“They’ve spent over £250,000 of ratepayers’ money on it, there’s a new sprinkler system as well. They can’t have cars driving over it.

“Ballymena United have one of the best facilities in Northern Ireland outside of Windsor Park – we just don’t have the bit in the middle you play on.

“In the past, referees have come close to calling off matches because there are tracks all over the pitch. Even oil spills.”

Tension between the stock car races and football club previously emerged in January, when Ballymena United manager David Jeffrey accused race organisers of a lack of respect after the pitch was damaged during a New Year’s Day event.

However, Aubrey Arbuthnot, who runs Ballymena Raceway, told BBC News NI he was “fed up” with criticism directed at the race events and that he had done as much as he could to keep cars off the pitch.

“All I want is fair play. I’m a ratepayer, not like some of the people sounding off in the press,” he said.

“We had 12 races last night. These cars race door handle to door handle. There’s up to 60 cars racing. Only two cars went off the track in separate incidents.”

Mr Arbuthnot said the council had organised and placed about 70 tyres around the track and around sprinkler heads and that he had insisted no personnel go on the pitch.

“Usually I have a clerk of the course and two photographers on the pitch. I didn’t even have a fire extinguisher on the pitch.

“I laid down the law to the drivers about what would happen if they went on the pitch. The driver who went off, he was spun off by someone else – he’s completely innocent.

“If I had found out who put him off, I would have put him out the gate. That’s how seriously I’ve been taking it.

“But it’s our first night back in and they’re hammering us.”

He added that he was unable to organise race meetings for three months during the racing season because of work going on at the Showgrounds.

“That’s a number of meetings I couldn’t hold. That’s a loss of revenue.

“Our season runs from about Easter to the first weekend of October. There’s only about five meetings that clash with the football season. That’s all. They just don’t want a stockcar around the place.”

‘Matter of urgency’

He added: “I’ve seen comments that I had been offered an alternative venue. That’s nonsense. You think I would have turned that down? If the council offered me another venue, I’d be out tomorrow.”

A spokesperson for the council: “We are deeply disappointed by last night’s incident and fully appreciate and understand the frustration around this.

“Ballymena Showgrounds is a multi-use facility, enjoyed by a wide range of local sporting organisations.

“The measures put in place to protect the new surface at the venue were inadequate for last night’s event.

“Remedial works are being carried out on the pitch today.

“As the owners of the venue, we are fully committed to doing all that we can to safeguard the new pitch, and we are considering a range of measures to minimise the risk of damage to the surface as a matter of urgency.”

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Vandals Damage 16 Golf Greens

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Vandals Damage 16 Golf Greens: Within the next few days, test results should reveal the chemical that vandals used to damage 16 greens at a popular golf course in Skagit County.

A swear word was also spelled out in the grass on one of the holes at Swinomish Golf Links.

Employees believe the vandal or vandals picked their targets here carefully. The greens closest to the clubhouse are covered by surveillance cameras and were not hit.

“It’s stupid. I don’t why people vandalize. It doesn’t make sense to me,” said golfer Walt Matye.

“Very disgusting. Just like graffiti and that, there’s no point. It doesn’t accomplish anything except make matters worse,” added his cousin, Marshall.

Sometime within the past week, the vandals trespassed on the 100-acre course overnight and sprayed some type of grass-killing chemical on most of the greens, investigators told KOMO News. A swear word was also left behind on hole 11.

“It had to be a very involved process. One that was thought out. And for them to have access to the course by either driving or bringing this stuff with them is something that was well planned out,” said Chairman Brian Cladoosby, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

Tests are now being performed on the damaged grass and soil to try to figure out what chemical the vandal or vandals used.

If the chemical damaged the soil, it’s possible the course may have to temporarily close until expensive repairs can be made, employees said.

A temporary closure would be a huge hit considering the time of year.

“These individuals knew what they were doing. They know golf. They know the peak season. They know that the majority of the income produced by golf courses in the northwest is right around Memorial Day to Labor Day,” Cladoosby said.

Right now, this course is still playable.

Employees have drastically reduced rates for players because of the damage left behind.

“It just takes a few people to ruin it for the majority of the people to have a good time,” said Marshall Matye. “I guess the only thing they think about is themselves.”

The course does have insurance, employees said. But it’s possible the damage could climb to more than $500,000, they added.

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest in the case.

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