Plea to parents after laughing gas paraphernalia found near Grimsby sports ground

A Grimsby councillor has called on parents to be more aware of what their children are doing in the evenings after a large stash of gas canisters and drug equipment were found near a playing field.

Two boxes of of large canisters of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas were left strewn at the car park outside King George V Stadium on Weelsby Road. There were also balloons and wraps of powder, some with a cannabis leaf motif. They were later removed by North East Lincolnshire Council staff.

"I would ask those that take such items not to do it. They simply do not know what is in it. They are clearly not aware of the long-term health consequences. They are not worth the risk," said Councillor Matt Patrick for Heneage ward.

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He added: "I would ask parents to be aware of what their children are doing and try to educate them in the devastating impact these activities can have. Taking drugs like this could be deadly. It is also important for people who see such activity to report it to Humberside Police by calling 101 or if they think there is an immediate danger to call 999. That way police can log an incident and keep a detail of where children are taking drugs and add it to their intelligence-gathering systems."

The long-serving councillor said he was pleased a number of activities for young people will soon be opening in Heneage ward with the new Clee Fields development. It received a grant of £1.5million from The Premier League and English FA and will be operated by YMCA Humber at the site off Ladysmith Road.

The two brand new 3G pitches have been lined and fresh new changing rooms in the main building are complete and ready for use when the facility opens later this year.

The operator for the facility has now been appointed following a competitive tendering process: YMCA Humber will take on and run the facility, initially for 5 years.

There will be four large team changing areas, changing spaces for officials, and a kitchen, servery, and eating area, which doubles up as a ‘team chat and motivation zone’ when not in use by the public. The latter can be accessed from both inside and out, which is handy for people to drop in for a drink while they are playing, or for spectators at the venue.

Solar panels on the roof feed electricity into the building, with the potential for any surplus to be fed into the wider National Grid, air source heat pumps provide the heating and contribute to hot water provision for post-match showers, and in the future, there will be two EV charging points for electric cars. By adding this technology to the venue, the local carbon footprint is hugely reduced, and the building will subsequently benefit from cheaper running costs.

Outside, the two 3G, artificial grass pitches are looking fantastic. Once in use, both pitches will be available for football with markings for 5, 7, 9, and 11-a-side football, and the second is also enabled for rugby use.

As part of the work, the pitches took two months alone to level and a whole range of machinery was needed for the task. Starting with the drains, the next layers added were stones, tarmac, rubber shock pads and, finally, the artificial grass.

The facility will be able to provide all-year-round football and rugby use for the community, including local clubs, leagues and schools, as well as the opportunity for hosting tournaments and events.

Individual teams, clubs or organisations who are interested in future use of Clee Fields are encouraged to register their interest for future bookings and mailing list updates through emailing cleefields@ymca-humber.com.