Wigan football team boss's despair at 'potentially lethal' yobbery

The otherwise idyllic Convent Ground in Standish – used by various Standish St Wilfrid’s sides - has been a target for vandals for months.

In April Wigan Today reported that specially-made dug-outs had been shattered, parking bollards uprooted and the shower block doors kicked in.

Well since then things have not improved and now the anti-social behaviour has taken a new and sinister twist.

Manager Phil Ramsdale came down to the ground after the weekend to find shards of broken glass plus bags of dog mess from special waste bins had been strewn across the playing surface, making it extremely dangerous.

A fire had also been lit near one of the dug-outs which the club has not yet repaired – despite having new materials – because at the moment they feel that it would be pointless.

Mr Ramsdale, who was left in tears after the April attacks, said today: “I love this club dearly but there are days like today which make me feel like walking away.

"This trouble is caused by youths who are bored. They get drunk, they throw the empty bottles at metal posts, then pick up the broken glass and chuck it on the pitch.

"We have dog walkers who walk around here so we’ve got the council to put in some dog poo bins, but these have been upended and their contents thrown on the playing surface too.

"It’s sickening. I’ve spent 90 minutes clearing all the latest mess up this morning. Imagine if someone does a sliding tackle and a shard of glass severs an artery. These are potentially lethal hazards.

"I don’t think that those are responsible think through the consequences. We have reported this all to the police and they said they would put a drone up at hotspot times to see if any of the perpetrators could be identified, but I don’t think they’ve had any results and the problems are certainly still continuing.

“There are a lot of developments going on round here too and we are seeing if any newly installed CCTV might catch those responsible in the act.”

Mr Ramsdale has previously blamed the parents of the vandals for the problems for not knowing where the youngsters are and what they are doing.

The club doesn’t get any money from the council or the lottery. It is entirely self-funded and whenever it does receive money, it is ploughed back into the club.

He said: “This is an asset that benefits the community and gives many people an outlet for their interests. It is heartbreaking that a small minority are trying to ruin everything for the rest.

"Something needs to be done. At the moment there is no point in replacing the vandalised dug-outs until something changes. But the latest incidents: it’s not about monetary value, it’s about people at risk of being seriously hurt.”

Anyone with information about this anti-social activity should ring the police on Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.