Footballers angry over pitch fee rise
The chairman of a village football club near Shropshire is appealing for help to raise funds to use their local pitch.
Ralph Warburton, chairman of Audlem Football Club, said the team has to pay £466 to use their playing field.
Mr Warburton said the ground, near Market Drayton, was currently owned by Cheshire East Council which is charging the club the rental fee.
He said: "We are the only group that has to pay to use the field.
"This year the charge has been increased by 15 per cent and to suffer one of the worst pitches in the league, just look at the goal mouths to see what I mean.
"Last year the players all had to pay each week to get the funds.
"Paying out this new charge of £466 will virtually empty our bank account. The players will have to stump up money to get us viable as a team under league rules.
"If only we, the village, owned the field. I do despair over this unfair position and will hope again for a degree of aid from the parish council."
Mr Warburton said he hoped to ask members of Audlem Parish Council for help.
The parish council did not discuss Audlem Football Club at its latest meeting held on Monday as it was not on the agenda. A member of the Audlem Online community website posted: "When we heard from Ralph about the fee to use the pitch, we went to photograph the goalmouth he describes.
"It's not the surface any player, particularly a goalkeeper, would relish.
"Neither would most youngsters having a kick-about."
Earlier this year the footballers were left furious after tyre tracks from an unknown vehicle damaged their pitch, forcing them to play a fixture away from home.
As well as having to travel to the opponent's home ground, the day was made worse when they lost 8-2.
Mr Warburton said the team had a number of setbacks during the day including a lack of players available.
He added that the perpetrators removed a bollard, and did not replace it properly, drove diagonally across the field to deliver material to or near the tennis club with serious damage to the surface.
He said subsequent deliveries were made around the periphery of the field with similar damage.
