Football pitch left submerged by flood water

Volunteer groundsman Joe Mecke-Davis said it was heart breaking to see the pitch flooded

A grassroots football club has been left heartbroken after its pitch was submerged by flood water.

Heavy rain brought flooding to Herefordshire on Wednesday and Thursday and while roads have since reopened, river levels were expected to remain high.

Westfields FC, in Hereford, said it was "naturally disappointed" to have another game postponed due to flooding of Allpay Park. A groundsman said home games provided vital revenue for the club.

The club, who play in the Hellenic League Premier Division, was due to play a home fixture against Brimscombe and Thrupp on Saturday.

Volunteer groundsman Joe Mecke-Davis described the pitch as his "baby" which he put hours into maintaining.

"It is completely heart breaking for me as I put a lot of voluntary hours in every week to try and make the pitch the best it can be, it’s very much my baby.

"I’ll start work on it as soon as the water drops whether that be 20:00 at night or 06:00 in the morning."

He said Saturday fixtures helped provide "vital revenue" to the club to maintain the ground and fund the club's ambitions to progress.

"When the flood water eventually disperses I will be left with a very spongy pitch covered in heavy silt, all sorts of litter and debris all over which will require a lot of work."

He had already got a clean up plan together, which he thought would take seven days.

Westfields FC has postponed their weekend home fixtures due to flooding at Allpay Park

No further heavy rain is expected over the weekend but flood warnings, for the rivers Severn, Wye, Lugg and Arrow have been issued.

The Environment Agency (EA) said its flood defences were expected to be needed in Ironbridge and Hereford either on Friday or Saturday.