Sheffield children's football club pitch ruined by bike gang

A children's football club in Sheffield may have to close due to dirt bike vandals destroying its pitch.

Arbourthorne Playing Fields is being ruined by a gang of "intimidating" motor and quad bikers every weekend, forcing the postponement of one match.

The manager of Earl Marshall Soccer School said that changing matches leads to fines that the club cannot afford.

Sheffield City Council said: "The intimidation of children, or people of any age, is not acceptable."

Arbourthorne Playing Fields, a large recreation area, has recently added a new football pitch which is used for matches for the junior football team on Sundays.

However the group of adult masked bikers have been tearing up the grass since the football season started in September and frighten the children, parents and staff.

The ruts in the grass also mean the young players could seriously injure themselves, club members said.

Manager Shaun Pask, who set up the under-11 team last year, told the BBC that the bikers "ruin it for everyone".

He said: "It's intimidating. Parents bring their kids to training, then we have a match on a Sunday and you want it it to be safe, not worrying where the next motorbike will be coming from."

When matches are cancelled or postponed, the club must pay a fine to the league for missing fixtures, Mr Pask said.

"It costs us money we haven't got," he added.

"I recently had to pay out of my own pocket and, if it carries on, I'm not sure the club can carry on.

"The bikers all get together on a Sunday and we're talking about grown adults, not kids, and the police have never even pulled them over."

Mr Pask said one solution to the problem could be more fencing around the pitch.

"Then it can be used as a community hub for kids and parents during the school holidays - it's not just for football, it's for everybody," he said.

Inspector Katie Rowland-Wilson, of Sheffield South East Neighbourhood Policing Team, said police remained "committed" to tackling the problem.

She said the policing team was working with the council to prevent off-road bikes gaining entry to the playing fields.

Councillor Richard Williams, Chair of the Communities, Parks and Leisure Committee at Sheffield City Council, added: "Our parks team will also look at the requests around fencing and additional dog fouling bins."

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