The Post has helped to register a victory for football fans in Patna.
For an almighty row was about to break out over the state of the village football pitch.
Some locals labelled the playing surface a “jungle” and feared the beautiful game had to be kicked into touch- with the length of grass growing at the site.
However, since The Post submitted a media inquiry, council workmen have been quick to bring the playing surface up to scratch.
A group of football coaches and some keen local players had earlier banded together to label the local football pitch in the village a “disgrace.”
Their criticism of the pitch centred on the length of the grass which shot up considerably.
And they were also unhappy over the amount of time it took the local authority to trim the playing surface, just off Whitehill Avenue.
One football fan said: “I asked East Ayrshire Council if they would simply put the cutter on a lower setting so we can have a pitch that you can have a proper kickabout on.
“They refused and did so in their usual long winded and evasive manner.
“After many weeks stuck in the house, it’s unacceptable to take my nephews to the pitch and see the wee guys barely able to kick the ball because the grass is so long. It’s even difficult for me. It’s like a jungle!”
And a local coach had this to say: “Kilmarnock get £30m of leisure facilities. Even Bellsbank got astroturf put in their ‘cage’.
“We got a golf course closed, games hall and changing rooms demolished yet can’t even get a mower setting changed in return. We are third class citizens here.”
There was a growing belief among the football community that Patna was being forgotten about during the recent coronavirus pandemic.
One player said the surface is only cut “once a fortnight,” adding: “I feel they are deliberately refusing to put the pitch in a decent state in order to force people to use the synthetic pitch in Dalmellington, which I am told costs £3 per child to kick a ball on. Extortion in other words.”
He added: “All we are asking for is for someone to lower the setting before cutting the park.
“It probably takes less than a minute."
However, a spokesperson for East Ayrshire Council confirmed good news last week, saying: “Our Outdoor Services team has been in touch with the gentleman who contacted us about the pitches in Patna and the matter has been resolved.”
