Darren is praised for heatwave heroics on club pitch
DARREN McDonald was beaming when he received his ‘Love Hesketh Bank’ award from the parish council recently.
The award was in recognition of his tireless work during the sixweek heatwave last summer when he tended the new Hesketh Bank Football Club pitch.
“This time last year we had just managed to play our first match of the season,” explained Darren, “Due to the poor condition of the pitch causing it to constantly be water-logged.”
This led to the club taking dramatic and expensive measures to overhaul the drainage system and start the pitch again from seed.
Ironically, little did anyone know the weather was going to be so good that growing a new pitch was a challenge, but they hit their target of playing their first match the first week in September.
Darren, who has lived in Hesketh Bank all is life and is Vice Chair of the Club, was at the ground from 5am every morning to water the pitch.
His dedication is all the more impressive when you also learn that Darren’s father was terminally ill in hospital at the time, but Darren said: “This was what kept me going, that and the support from locals, who appreciated what we were doing.”
Darren added: “The contractors did a fantastic job of the pitch and I take pride in the fact that visiting clubs are now impressed rather than constantly being turned away because we can’t play.”
The ‘Love Hesketh Bank’ campaign, celebrating what is great about the village, launched on February 14, 2014.
In these individual awards, introduced in 2016, the Parish Council recognises those that have made an outstanding contribution to the village, showing their love for Hesketh Bank.