Groundsman's pitch-perfect design up for award

Joe-Mecke Davis is in the running for an international award

A groundsman is in the running for an international award after his pitch-perfect design went viral.

Joe Mecke-Davis became a social media star this summer after posting an image of his work at Westfields Football Club's Allpay Park ground in Herefordshire.

The design has been entered in the 2025 Allett Creative Lawn Stripes Competition - other entries include a US baseball pitch and a Canadian lawn.

The award, run by Stafford-based company, Allett Mowers, closes on Wednesday. Mr Mecke-Davis said: "All the entries are absolutely amazing."

His design at the club on Widemarsh Common in Hereford took him about an hour and a half to put the pattern in and a further half an hour each time he went over it every few days, he explained.

"You can only see the full effect of the pitch once you send the drone up," he said. "You can't really see it from eye level."

He said he "absolutely loved" creating a decorative pitch.

"Most people can't do it," he said. "All the bigger clubs have just got to have standard straight lines, but luckily in non-league we can do whatever we want."

After battling floods and drought, Mr Mecke-Davis said that the challenge was maintaining the pitch and getting it ready to decorate.

"In the summer, we're trying to get as much water on as we can. In the winter, we're trying to get all the water off the pitch, which is normally about a metre deep," he said.

"I'm expecting it to flood in the next three or four weeks, I imagine. Coming into October is normally our first flood.

"We know it's going to happen, so we've just got to enjoy it while there's no fish swimming on it," he added.