Plea from cricket club overrun by youths

The club says dozens of teenagers gathered on the pitch during an U9s coaching session on Friday

A cricket club that has seen matches and training repeatedly disrupted by antisocial behaviour has pleaded with parents to stop their children from causing chaos at the ground.

Maghull Cricket Club in Merseyside has made more than 25 police reports in the last year, and youngsters fighting on the cricket field - some armed with hammers - interrupted a junior coaching session in May.

The club called police again on Friday when dozens of teenagers were on the pitch, with some riding bikes and playing football during an U9s session.

Club secretary Neil Dutton said incidents had been "intimidating" for youth players and that he was worried about potential problems over the summer holidays.

Mr Dutton, who has been involved with the club since 2002, said: "If they are not playing cricket they've no reason to be here.

"There's loads of playing fields and parks where they can go."

He said in the latest incident on Friday, the club was trying to coach under 9s.

"They are very young and it can be intimidating for them," he said, adding it was really hard for them to focus, too.

Maghull Cricket Club says it welcomes youngsters who want to learn how to play

Mr Dutton said it was frustrating to often hear "kids have nothing to do" as the club was putting on organised activities for youngsters.

He said if youngsters were interested in playing cricket, the club would be happy for their parents to get in touch and would lend them kit so they could have a go.

The club has permission to build a fence around the perimeter to block access to the ground, which is owned by the council.

Mr Dutton added the club was currently in the process of looking into funding for the fence.

The BBC has contacted Merseyside Police for information about Friday's incident.