Midlothian youth football team 'disgusted' after vital pitch ruined in 'shameful act'
A Midlothian youth football club has been left without the use of one of its pitches after a "selfish and shameful" act.
Penicuik Athletic Youth Football Club took to social media to post a statement over the weekend along with pictures of the pitch which appears to have been driven across by a car, leaving tyre marks across the grass.
The club, which rely on the seven-a-side pitches for training, shared its frustration by calling out the act which could leave coaches and players without the use of the pitch for months depending on the re-seeding process.
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Images of the pitch show muddy tyre marks seemingly caused by a car having driven in circles around the grass. Scott Montgomery, Chairman of the club, has since asked Midlothian Council to install bollards to prevent future vandalism.
Scott said: "We're pretty certain it took place on Saturday night once it got dark. We're the only team who use those particular pitches but the size of our club we have multiple games happening at the same time and need multiple pitches.
"It's going to make things difficult with the timing. Things aren't growing because of the weather and in the coming weeks and months it's unlikely to recover even if they seed it over or cover it in soil.
"I'm confident the council will come and fix it as I made the point about the time of the year but they maintain the pitches and we book from them. It's not on us but it affects us.
"I don't think something like this has happened before but you can quite easily drive onto the grass so I have also asked the council about installing bollards to prevent it happening again."
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The club, which has 450 players and 10 seven-a-side teams, also posted a statement on social media urging anyone who may hold information regarding the damage to get in touch.
The post added: "We were shocked, disgusted and saddened to find this morning that one of the 7-a-side pitches our kids use at Bog Road was badly damaged by someone who felt it acceptable to drive a car across it.
"The pitch is now ruined and unlikely to be used for the foreseeable future, leaving us with access to just one playable 7-a-side grass pitch.
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"As a club, we wholly condemn this selfish and shameful act which means several of our children will lose out on the chance to play the game they love in the weeks and months ahead.
"If anyone can provide any information, please do not hesitate to contact Police Scotland."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On Monday, 16 September, 2024, we received a report of damage to football pitches on Bog Road, Penicuik. Enquiries are ongoing.”