Dismay and frustration yet again at Littletown as ‘mindless’ joyriding vandals wreck junior football pitches

The public grass area at Milton Road in Heckmondwike, home of Littletown Juniors Football Club, was vandalised in the early hours of Sunday morning (January 7) by vehicles entering the field and leaving tyre marks.

The club, whose pitches were also similarly targeted in November and December 2022, have pleaded for the culprits to stop, while they are now working closely with the council to prevent any further incidents.

Macaulay Parkinson, head of the juniors, said: “We haven’t had any games down there recently because of the weather but now it is going to delay it even more. We are back to square one. We are having to pay money to get the pitch back up to a suitable standard.

“We’re just at a stage where it’s like, ‘Oh have they done it again?’ It is a plea now. It doesn’t affect me, it doesn’t affect you. It’s the kids in the community. We have nine teams that play from down there and they all go to school all week and they look forward to playing football on a weekend and it’s been taken away from them by some mindless idiots for 20 seconds of fun. It’s a minority, but there are some mindless idiots out there.

“It is just baffling to me. Until we get the barriers up, it is probably going to be the case. We need some support in getting the barriers put up.

“The council is very supportive. The only way that is going to prevent it is by getting the barriers up there which is what we need.”

Confirming the council’s support, coun Aafaq Butt, Cabinet Member for Culture and Greener Kirklees, said:

“I am saddened to hear that people are still taking these selfish actions that damage the pitch at Littletown FC.

“We are continuing to work with the club to support them in applying for funding to install preventative measures on site.

“We have installed these measures in similar locations across the borough and they have been successful in preventing this vandalism from taking place.

“We would encourage anyone who witnesses anti-social behaviour to report it to the police by calling 101, with as much detail as possible. Vehicle descriptions and registration numbers are extremely useful in helping to track down those responsible.”