Volunteer goes 'above and beyond' on flooded pitch

Joe-Mecke Davis was lying on a groundsheet, trying to stay awake

A dedicated volunteer groundsman at a non-league football club camped at its flooded ground in order to get it ready for an upcoming match.

Joe Mecke-Davis spent Monday night refilling pumps with petrol every half an hour, in order to keep them running for long enough to remove floodwater from the pitch at Westfields FC in Hereford.

Mr Mecke-Davis said he had to do as much as he could ahead of the match against Mangotsfield United on Saturday.

"I set myself that goal," he said, "if that involved staying here long, long late [on Monday night], then that's what I had to do."

"If that’s not going above and beyond as a volunteer we don’t know what is," the club said on X.

Mr Mecke-Davis took the unusual step after heavy rain brought flooding to Herefordshire last week.

The Hellenic League Premier Division club's home fixture against Brimscombe and Thrupp at Allpay Park last Saturday was postponed.

Areas of the pitch were under almost a metre of water.

Areas of the pitch were under almost a metre of water

Mr Mecke-Davis admitted he was not there "all night" on Monday.

But he added: "I was here a fair whack until it got cold and I had to make a go for it."

The groundsman said: "I have got a duvet and a pillow in my groundsman shed, which I've had in there now for about two years, which I thought might come in handy.

"I was tempted to get that, but I thought: 'I'd better go home and get into bed'."

The groundsman said he tried to make the pitch the best he could

The volunteer said he put a lot of pride into the pitch, trying to make it the best he could "with funky patterns and a nice surface for the boys to play" on.

He said flooding "used to really get me down. But now this is the fifth or sixth time it's happened, you kind of got to grin and bear it."

Asked if this Saturday's match would take place, Mr Mecke-Davis said: "I'll put my house on it."