Long grass leaves footballers playing spot the ball (From Barry And District News)

Long grass leaves footballers playing spot the ball

8:50am Saturday 15th September 2012 in News

THE chairman of the local football league has cried 'foul' against the Vale Council, after players struggled to spot the ball in the long grass.

Vale of Glamorgan Area chairman, Tony Williams, criticised the council and said teams had had to deal with overgrown grass, with referees deciding fixtures needed to go ahead.

Mr Williams said: "Why is the council charging us £45 if they are providing a service like this?

"How can it expect the kids to play?

"The season has just started and this is the service they have given us."

Vale Council cabinet member for leisure, parks, culture and sport development, Cllr Gwyn John said: "The council have had a number of problems in preparing the pitches to the standard expected.

"I can assure everyone, including Mr Williams, that the only way to resolve matters is to contact the Parks department at Court Road, Barry, or myself as the cabinet member.

"I hope that in future this is done."

Vale Council operational manager, parks and ground maintenance, Phil Beaman added: "The unseasonable weather experienced over the last month has presented a challenge for the Parks Division, in as much as the high levels of rain and warmth have caused the grass to grow at a faster rate than normal at this time of year.

"As a result, our normal grass cutting schedule has not been enough to cope with the level of grass growth experienced this year.

"In order to get the pitches to an acceptable standard, extra resources have been deployed.

"The growth of grass on pitches is being monitored to ensure that the pitches are kept to the desired standard."