DISGUSTED volunteers at Pontypool RFC have been left shocked after finding screwdrivers, nails and knife blades sticking out of the tryline at Pontypool Park.

The club is furious at the rate and scale of the vandalism and anti-social behaviour targeting the club’s pitch, main stand and other facilities at the ground.

Dave Aston from Cwmbran, a club volunteer for ten years, said: “We have always had a problem with kids coming down to the Park for the whole time I can remember, but recently it has become unbelievable.

“We are finding all sorts in the stand – drugs, bongs for taking drugs, syringes, bottles of drink, seats in the stand kicked out.

“The other week we found a large black bin at the back of the stand which the kids had started a fire in.

“So many of them have taken a wee at the back of the stand it is now seeping through into the club rooms downstairs.

“In the stand we find they have driven razor blades into the seats, presumably to try to get the supporters to sit on them.

“And we have to walk the pitch before training and matches because they have broken bottles and driven them into the ground with the sharp bit pointing up, there’s nails in there, screwdrivers, all along the try-line under the posts.”

Matthew Pearce, another volunteer, who is a matchday steward and cleans the club house after games said: “You honestly wouldn’t believe what we find down here, screwdrivers, the blades from a Stanley knife sticking out the pitch. We are volunteers, if we can’t make it down before training can you imagine what might happen?

“We quite often have to clear up human faeces too.

As I say we’re just volunteers and its disgusting, it makes you think: ‘Why am I bothering with doing this?’”

Glyn ‘Zoom’ Page, 65, part of head coach Mike Hook’s backroom team, said the children are aged 12-14.

“There’s regularly 20 or 30 of them up there even when we’re training, often shouting abuse. We’ve had to call the police a few times because they just won’t leave. A few weeks ago they started a fire using loads of loo roll at the back of the stand before we chased them off. If we hadn’t seen them the whole stand would’ve gone up.

It’s completely depressing,” says Mr Aston. “On Saturday we left the subs’ benches out by accident and now they’re smashed to pieces.

“What kind of children are these?

“Pontypool Park is an asset for Torfaen and we really need more help in looking after it.”

 ‘Intent on causing havoc’

A TORFAEN council spokesman said: “Unfortunately, this is an ongoing issue with youths who seem intent on causing problems for the club.

“Instead of being proud of Pontypool’s sporting history they seem intent on wreaking havoc at the ground and at the stand which affects the players and their supporters.

“We are working closely with the police and have assisted in every possible way.

“We have even given the police access to an office in the stand so they can deal with incidents on site.

“We would urge anyone who witnesses any incidents to report them to the police as soon as possible.”

Policing team ‘is aware of concerns’

A SPOKESWOMAN for Gwent Police, said: “The local Neighbourhood Policing Team is aware of concerns about large groups of people congregating in this area, underage drinking and damage caused to benches.

“Officers have been, and will continue to conduct regular patrols in the area and work with the club to resolve these issues.

“Anyone with concerns relating to criminal damage or anti social behaviour in their local area should report it to 101.”