Football pitches wrecked by yobs

VANDALS have been wreaking havoc on football pitches in Cambridgeshire.

In Cambourne, yobs churned up a number of youth team pitches by driving a car over the playing surface while in St Ives, 1,000 litres of oil was poured over the pitch.

Cambourne's football players, including around 60 youngsters, had been celebrating the long-awaited arrival this week of changing rooms and the white-lining of the new pitches.

Thousands of pounds had been spent on getting the site, off Back Lane, ready.

But on Tuesday night, vandals drove a vehicle over the mini league pitches, which will be used by youngsters aged between eight and 11.

Jill Carter, secretary of the Cambourne Rovers Juniors, which she set up with her husband Andy, said: "I don't know why anyone would want to do this - people know we have our games starting this weekend."

A police spokesman confirmed officers were investigating the incident.

St Ives Football Club is being forced to use other grounds for its next games and it could take weeks before the pitch is ready for play again.

Vandals attacked the ground twice over the weekend, turning on the tap on an oil tank and releasing 1,000 litres of oil which was washed into the pitch by storms on Sunday night. The oil killed the grass on a substantial part of the pitch and has also caused a pollution problem.

Club chairman Neville Nania said: "It has killed the grass and made the soil toxic, so we will have to dig it out before we can use the pitch again."

The club has already had to call off a Peterborough United Ladies FA Cup match and its next two home games will be played at Warboys and Huntingdon.

*Anyone with information about either incident is urged to contact the police on 0845 4564564 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

As reported in the Cambridge Evening News