Washington AFC secure funding for fence to protect football pitches after community comes together following vandalism attack

The damage to the junior pitches at Washington AFC caused in October 2020.

A local football club has had funding approved for a fence that will protect its pitch after vandals caused £2000 worth of damage last year.

Washington AFC were shocked and saddened to see their pitches at the Northern Area Playing Fields had been driven over by vehicles in October last year, causing significant damage which cost over £2000 to repair.

Now, the club has secured funding for a fence around the pitch which it hopes will prevent any vandalism or damage happening again.

Since the incident in October, the community rallied round to support the club, raising £2700 towards the fence to go with funding from national charity The Football Foundation, which supports the grassroots game in England.

Head of Football at Washington AFC, Gary Sykes, said: “Moving forward for the Club this is an exciting time as everyone has worked together to protect our pitches for the players of the present and for the future, following the pandemic.

“Our volunteer ground staff can now arrive to do their jobs without having to deal with damage to the pitches from cars which has had a significant impact on our players and coaches.”

As well as fans, players and staff, a number of local organisations including Total resources UK, Vaccas Ali & MM, Young’s Properties Ltd, Co-Op Concord and Biffa Washington, all supported the club with donations.

The club are hoping the fence will be complete around the end of July and will enable them to continue bringing the community together for years to come.

Two men are currently due in court charged with tearing up football pitches by deliberately driving a car over the grass.

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