Team left homeless by travellers

Oct 4 2006 By Anna Jeys, Birmingham Mail

A SUNDAY League team has nowhere to play despite spending all summer lovingly preparing a new pitch - because travellers invaded it.

Coleshill Town FC bosses were furious after 15 caravans, trailers and trucks pulled on to their prized new ground at Lea Marston.

Unless they leave today, it may take a court order and bailiffs to move the travellers. Under-15s manager Alan Coningsby said: "We are really worried about the state the pitch will be in because of the travellers moving in.

"We have spent a lot of time doing up the pitch and it was perfect. It is one of the better grounds in the league now.

"All of the parents got involved and everyone helped to clear it up.

"Now we don't know if we can play on Sunday and we are only three weeks into the season. We could have nowhere to play at all."

The club has been established for 100 years and its teams play in the Central Warwickshire League. It has under-14s and under-15s sides who train at the pitch and are due to play two matches at the ground on Sunday.

Coleshill moved there after being forced to leave its old pitch in Min-worth last year when owners Severn Trent announced they were developing the land.

Club officials found a new ground, which was overgrown.

Team members, managers and parents rallied round to get a pitch ready for the start of the 2006-7 season.

They mowed the grass and prepared the ground, painted goalposts, marked out the pitch and secured planning permission for changing rooms.

But after playing just two matches at the ground near the BMW engine plant at Hams Hall, traveller families moved on to the site.

A spokesman for electricity company Eon, which owns the land, said: "Travellers moved on to the site and we were called during the night.

"One of our team was on site at 7am to assess the situation. We then visited again at midday with Warwickshire Police to start the ball rolling to get the travellers to move off.

"We hope they are going to move by this morning but if they do not we will start proceedings to get bailiffs involved."

The Under 15s squad have won their last three games after losing the first match of the season, but the Under 14s lost all four matches.

The teams are now looking for help to fund new changing rooms on the site and to repair any damage to the pitch. Anyone able to help is urged to call 07703 308488.

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