Arbroath pitches will be repaired for next youth games

Angus youth pitches that were churned up by “boy racers” will be repaired in time for this weekend’s games, according to the local authority.

Youngsters in football teams run by Arbroath Community Sports Club were “heartbroken” to find deep furrows in their seven-a-side fields at the weekend.

The “mindless vandals” have been slated for their failure to think of the youngsters, aged between 9 and 12-years-old.

The club leases the pitches from Angus Council, which sent staff to look at the extent of the damage on Monday.

Yesterday, a spokesman for the local authority said it will be repaired for the next lot of home games this weekend.

He said: “We will ensure that the pitches are repaired and ready for the home fixtures this weekend.

“While we have not aware of any previous incidents of this kind at this park, this type of thoughtless behaviour causes upset to others in the community and we will be monitoring the situation.”

Arbroath Community Sports Club run teams for teenagers to compete in the Dundee And District Youth Football Association leagues.

The club’s 2004 side was shortlisted in the recent Angus Sports Awards, and the SFA Quality Mark outfit is in the process of setting up girls’ teams for those aged 7 to 13.

Their first training session is set to go ahead as planned after the news.

Coach John Gordon said a car would only get access to the grass through a gap in fencing, left for council vehicles.

The town’s Victoria Park had been susceptible to cars driving across its adult pitches, but this has been closed off recently.

He said: “We were trying to organise a tournament in the summer with 30-odd teams and if this happened on the day, we don’t know what we would do.

“It could well be young people doing this, but it’s also kids that are missing out on the game days and training on week nights.

“They were heartbroken.”