Vandals targeting kids’ club pitch
VOLUNTEERS at a junior football club fear they are being targeted after goals were ripped out, cars keyed, and new signs torn down just weeks after being allocated onto a new pitch.
A spate of problems has affected Southport Athletic JFC since they started using the field on Ferryside Lane, Crossens, in late September and the vandalism has continued despite the new lockdown which prevents any football taking place.
Paul Mullan, who coaches an U7 team, says there have also been issues with confrontational dog walkers unhappy with the use of the field, and claimed that the club’s 62-year-old chairman was threatened while at the field.
He is not sure who is responsible for the vandalism, but has been left taken aback by the level of opposition since Sefton Council allocated the field to the club.
The main point of opposition to the use of the fields for football is a Public Space Protection
Order (PSPO) which bans dogs from football pitches in many areas of Sefton. Some fear that when it is renewed, Ferryside Lane could be added to that list.
Paul said: “When we first got allocated the fields there a couple of residents were very vocal about pitches not being there because of a PSPO. When we’re setting up before putting up the nets and placing out the barriers for the parents to stand behind like we have to, we’ve had people ask what time the matches are on and then they say ‘oh well that’s my day ruined then’.
“There were some comments from certain dog walkers being confrontational when we were setting up for games and stuff like that.”
Problems have escalated further with cars being scratched during matches, though no culprit has been identified.
Just one week after new goals were put up, they were dug out of the ground and dragged across the field. The latest incident saw the club’s chairman put up signs asking those using the fields to clean up after their dogs, only for them to be cut up within a matter of days.
Paul is sympathetic to concerns about a total ban of dogs using certain areas but says the pitches are only used for a few hours a week and does not understand the hostile attitudes being taken around children’s football.
He said: “If a dog’s off its lead during a match it’s no good, especially if you’ve got kids who are scared of dogs. And then there’s the problem of dog muck on the pitch.
“There’s a rule about dogs not being allowed on pitches which I don’t entirely agree with but it is what it is, it’s not something we’ve done.
“Since we’ve been there, the grass is cut more regularly, there’s a couple of us who’ve cut back brambles.
“The council put up goals and then a week later they were pulled down. It looked like they’d been dug up so it doesn’t seem like it was just kids messing around.”
The club provides football for around 125 children aged U7-U16 and aims to be a part of the community beyond football. During half-term, coaches collected and distributed food donations to those in need.
Paul said they have tried to open a dialogue with those who use the field and have largely received positive responses.
“We’ve been met with a lot of resistance from a few dog walkers but the majority of them are decent and the residents have been really supportive.
“One neighbour even donated some money after the goals got damaged.
“There does seem to be some sort of issue though so we’ve asked people to have some sort of dialogue.
“Most of the dog walkers and residents are great but if there’s someone doing these kinds of things they need to have a word with themselves.”