Hull children's football pitch vandalised for third time

The damage was discovered on Saturday morning on the pitches at Alderman Kneeshaw Park

Pitches used by a children's football team in Hull have been vandalised by bikers for the third time in six months, club staff have said.

Deep ruts were discovered at the grounds of Barham AFC at Alderman Kneeshaw Park on Saturday morning.

Club chairman Lee Noble said it looked like the damage had been caused by quad bikers some time over the last week.

While the damage was "repairable", it involved a great deal of inconvenience, Mr Noble said.

The playing field on Valiant Drive, in the east of the city, suffered similar damage in June and October, causing matches to be cancelled.

Mr Noble said that while no games would be lost this time as the club was taking a Christmas break, at other times the damage would have meant the fixtures would have been called off as the playing surface was unsafe.

"It takes a lot of time raking it and repairing divots, so it's safe for kids to play," he said.

The most recent damage is the third incident at the club's ground in the last six months

Mr Noble said that the bikers who regularly targeted the team's pitches were a problem as "they've got nowhere to go in Hull".

"It's a big open space and we really need fences around it to keep vehicles out," he added.

"It's an inconvenience for the kids and for the local community."

Barham AFC was founded last year and now has around 300 players, with teams ranging from under six to adults.

Insp Jo Harvey, from Humberside Police, said: "It is clear some individuals are using motorbikes and quad bikes to commit criminal acts, anti-social behaviour and road traffic offences.

"We understand the impact this kind of behaviour can have on our communities.

"To those people involved, I want to be clear: this type of behaviour will not be tolerated. It is extremely dangerous and could potentially cause a serious injury."