Alarm over danger debris at sports pitch

Concerned resident Ian Harris was horrified when he spotted the danger debris by the artificial grass 3G pitch at Broadfield Stadium.

“There are very young, excited children that run around this area,” he said.

“Around the edge of the pitch there is broken glass and bottles on the floor, along with rubbish.

“The fence around the edge of the pitch has also been cut, leaving loads of sharp ends poking out all at different heights ready for some poor excited child/adult to poke out their eye.”

Ian contacted Freedom Leisure, which runs the pitch and pavilion on behalf of Crawley Borough Council, to point out the dangers.

They came back to him, he said, and told him they had collected the rubbish and made the fence good before they could repair it.

A spokesman for Freedom Leisure said: “We are aware of the concerns raised regarding the 3G pitch at Broadfield, which we operate on behalf of Crawley Borough Council.

“The fencing was unfortunately damaged recently but has since been made safe, with more permanent repairs imminent.

“We undertake a maintenance programme of the site, which sees security and maintenance visits to the site twice a day to keep on top of any issues with litter.

“This facility is important to the local community, offering a great environment for people to play pitch sports, so it is our aim to keep it unlocked and available to all, however, we will keep our security measures under review.”