Vandals put sport pitches at risk

Thoughtless vandals are putting sport at risk by damaging pitches at Pleasington playing fields.

Improvement works were recently carried out by Council teams, including re-seeding the grass, to make the land more suitable for both football and cricket.

But people are coming to the area every night, without booking or paying, and vandalising fencing to play games of cricket. This is damaging the land as the grass seeds need more time to set but are being disturbed and kicked up.

This could mean teams will not be able to play on the land. Fences have been placed around the new pitch but the vandals are removing the fencing and using fence pins as wickets to play games of cricket.

Football and cricket teams across Blackburn and Darwen play on pitches at Pleasington, both during the week and at the weekend, so the pitches need to be in good condition.

Sayyed Osman, Director of Environment, Housing and Neighbourhoods, said:

“This sort of selfish behaviour is jeopardising the work our teams are doing to improve the football and cricket pitches at Pleasington. It is disrespectful to the both the local teams who enjoy playing there and the Council teams who work to make this possible. We are committed to providing our communities the best facilities possible and I would appeal for a bit of common sense”.