A CHILD preparing for his rugby match fell face-first into dog mess – despite dog walking being banned on the pitch.

Jake Harding, eight from Blackwood, was warming up on the side of the pitch for his match with Newbridge RFC under nines, when he fell into the mess.

Dad Ben Harding, who is also a coach, said: “We as coaches and the referee set up the two pitches on the football pitch as we don’t use the full pitch, and then combed it over to check for rubbish and dog mess. We didn’t see any.

“Jake was on the sideline and he was tackling and getting ready to go on when he stood back up and I looked and saw mud on his face, just above his eye but it was a different colour. I looked closer and could smell it, and went to get the first aid kit.”

The mess was just above Jake’s eye, which could have led to a very different situation indeed. “He was lucky. It was lucky he didn’t rub it and touch his eye.

“You read of people who have lost their sight from getting dog mess in it.”

MORE NEWS:

Caerphilly County Borough Council banned the walking of dogs on sports pitches on November 11 and this included Canal Fields where the game was played. Mr Harding said he was not aware of anything similar happening there previously but knows that people have been challenged for walking their dogs on the pitch despite the ban.

Mr Harding, who is a dog owner himself, said: “All the people that are still not being responsible as dog owners in cleaning up after themselves when walking their dog on pitches, the consequences can be serious. It could have been a whole different ball game if it went in his eye.

“At the end of the day, he went to the rugby to enjoy his game, playing with his friends and he could have ended up needing medical treatment and even losing his sight.”

Following the incident, Newbridge RFC posted a warning on their Facebook page about what happened and warning the public about the fields being a no-dog zone and urging anyone who sees someone walking their dog on a sports pitch to report it.