Drainage work wipes out football and cricket

The work will cut through two sections of newly-laid sports field drainage installed last year.

Rother community services director Tony Leonard says: "Had Southern Water given this council prior warning of the project, our sports field drainage could have been delayed.

"The new scheme will prevent the use of the football pitch for the 2002/2003 season and the loss of the cricket pitch for the 2002 season."

Weekend and midweek matches involving Bexhill Athletic football and cricket teams and Parkhurst CC will be switched to other grounds.

At the request of council chairman Cllr Bill Clements, a recently retired umpire, Rother officers will now ask Southern Water to delay work on the cricket pitch section until after the coming season.