Tag Archive for: Football

Vandals Set Fire To Football Pitch

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Vandals Set Fire To Football Pitch: A Renton football team have been left with nowhere to play their games after vandals set fire to their pitch.

Players and coaches at Renton Craigandro have been left gutted by the damage done to their pitches at Tontine Park.

The grass pitch has been left blackened and unplayable with remains of melted plastic bins ruining the grounds.

The community club– which coaches 270 young players – will now have to foot the bill for the burnt out pitch and fix the damage by themselves over the festive period.

Matches which were set to be played this weekend will also have to be moved, costing the club even more money as they will have to pay to rent other pitches in the area.

One of the club’s coaches, Joe Mulvenna, was passing the club’s premises on Sunday night (December 9) when he spotted the burning bins.

Nearby residents called emergency services who attended to extinguish the blaze at around 7pm.

The fire was contained to the bins and caused no further damage to the pavillion on the park.

However, the fire has left blacked charred rubbish which will need to be cleaned up by the football team.

The grass will also have to be turfed at the expense of Renton Craigandro, who took over the pitch on a 25-year lease from West Dunbartonshire Council last year.

Club coach Joe said: “We were very lucky as it could have been so much worse.

“People panicked as they thought the whole place was on fire but thankfully it wasn’t that bad. It’s just so disappointing that someone would do that.

“We are now going to have to foot the bill for the damage and we don’t know yet how much it is going to cost.

“It is just an inconvenience for us all as we are going to have to put the time in to repair it and we now have to try and find another place for our teams to place while the pitch isn’t usable.”

A SFRS spokeswoman said: “TheScottish Fire and Rescue Service was alerted at 7.07pm on Sunday, December 9 to reports of small fire in the open in the Renton area of West Dunbartonshire.

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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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Football Club Furious As Vandals Hit

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Football Club Furious As Vandals Hit: Bosses at a football club have been left furious, and have hit out at vandals who tore up their pitch.

Yobs used a vehicle to churn up the pitch used by Bishopton FC, which runs teams for men, women and kids.

The site, which is operated by Renfrewshire Leisure, is also home to several other clubs in Bishopton and neighbouring Erskine.

However, the mindless vandalism means it may now be out of action for weeks.

Nori Fian, Bishopton FC’s vice-chairman, said: “We think this may have happened on Friday night and I reported it to the police on Saturday afternoon.

“It looks as if someone has got on something with two wheels and driven round the pitch several times.

“I was filled with revulsion when I saw it. There is a lack of facilities already in Bishopton and now one of its only pitches has been vandalised.

“I don’t think we will be able to use it for the foreseeable future but I’m hoping repairs can be made before we play at home again next month.”

Joyce McKellar, Renfrewhire Leisure’s chief executive, said the damage is being assessed.

She said: “Hopefully repairs can be carried out so the park can be made playable by this weekend.

“The pitch is used by several teams from the Bishopton and Erskine areas and, if repairs cannot be completed by the weekend, other parks are available.

“We don’t expect any games to be cancelled because of the damage to the pitch.”

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Vandals Tear Up Football Pitch

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Vandals Tear Up Football Pitch: The Gibbons soccer field recently suffered from vandalism.

Sometime between Sunday (Jun.11) and Monday, the soccer pitch was driven on while wet, causing significant damage to the grass.

“I feel for the kids who use that field because the local groups they’re really all we have for our entertainment,” said Gibbons councillor Amber Harris. “And then I felt bad for the tireless volunteers who work with the minor soccer folks because they put their heart and soul into developing those fields and making sure they’re playable.”
This isn’t the first time this has happened in the town.  A similar incident happened at the same time last year.
“It ticks me off that some people don’t have any respect for property,” added Harris.

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Football Club Bemoans Vandalism

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Football Club Bemoans Vandalism: Damage to football pitches at Awamoa Park in Oamaru is something the young players who use the fields should not have to contend with, Awamoa Football Club president Twyla Kingan says.

Speaking to the Otago Daily Times yesterday she confirmed at least one vehicle entered the park on Friday night, at the intersection of Awamoa Rd and State Highway 1, and did several burnouts on and around one of the park’s several playing surfaces.

The damage to the home of the Awamoa Football Club’s junior players, which resulted in large chunks of grass and earth being gouged out of the ground, was met with dismay by Mrs Kingan who said it was not the first time the park had been targeted by vandals.

”It’s disappointing … you look around on Saturday morning at the park and you see a good hundred kids out there enjoying playing with their friends. It’s unfortunate they get hampered by the damage.

”The most damage was just off the pitch and some in the middle of the pitch … you don’t want to see kids tripping up.”

While consideration was given to moving some games to the Oamaru Showgrounds, where Meadowbank United is based, all fixtures went ahead as planned after minor groundkeeping work.

Earlier this week, the club discussed, with the Waitaki District Council, the possibility of installing wooden bollards and chains to keep vehicles out of the park, which Mrs Kingan hoped would deter vandals.

Sergeant Tony Woodbridge, of Oamaru, said cases of parks and reserves being intentionally damaged by vehicles happened ”once or twice a year” and police were investigating Friday night’s incident.

Police were reviewing CCTV footage and the offenders would be prosecuted if located, he said.

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