Nasty surprise for Seacroft Sharks rugby club as 'truck load' of waste dumped by pitch

Seacroft Community Sports and Social Club, which is used by Seacroft Sharks Rugby League team and children's rugby and football training, is currently undergoing a £40,000 renovation.

Staff received a nasty surprise this morning after they found a load of old soil, scaffolding boards, cans, bottles and high vis clothing that had been dumped behind the pitch overnight.

It comes just weeks after nearby Whinmoor Warriors' pitch was ripped up by quad bikers and cars trespassing on their field.

Lewis Ward, Seacroft Sharks ARLFC club secretary, said: "For us to wake up on a Monday morning and find someone has entered the car park and dumped a truck load of waste between our car park and pitch is absolutely demoralising.

"It's the catchment area for the balls and it needs to be removed before training starts. As soon as a ball goes over it's going to be lost in the waste, it's dangerous."

Junior and open age training is currently on pause until January due to Tier 3 restrictions, but the waste will need to be cleared before adult games can resume next weekend.

Volunteers will now have to haul the waste from the car park to a skip the other side of the centre, which is currently full due to the renovation work.

Lewis added: "A lot of hard work, time and money has gone into making our club a safe and welcoming environment for all the kids involved.

"It's devastating, we're just finishing getting the inside sorted and we're in the process of building a bar area that's designed for children.

"The club has spent more than £40,000 on the work including new changing rooms, then this happens and it's like we're back to square one."

The club are in the process of reporting the incident to Leeds City Council but CCTV footage was unable to catch the fly-tippers.

Lewis said the club has been inundated with offers from the community to help clear the waste, with Whinmoor Warriors offering their support.

"We did the same for Whinmoor Warriors and offered them our pitch when theirs got trashed by the quad bikes", Lewis said.

"A bunch of our youth coaches from the open age training and committee members are coming down on Saturday to help clear it.

"They are sacrificing time with family so close to Christmas and we can't thank those guys enough."

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