Foxes cause hole havoc at football club

The pitch at Hednesford Town FC's ground at Keys Park has been targeted by the animals for more than a month.

Scott Smith, office worker and volunteer at the club, said he believed there were at least two foxes involved.

He said: "I think they are digging the holes because they are looking for worms.

"For us it's not good. We are having to refill the holes and we had some work done on the pitch over the summer.

"It's been happening since July. It did get better for a while but they are now back.

"It's more of an annoyance than anything. The first team, which has a squad of 18 or 19 players, uses the pitch and it's an extra work load to fill in the holes and clean the muck up.

"They might dig holes over a couple of nights and then have a week off.

"They have been targeting the penalty box and touch line area of the pitch. Sometimes they dig out the same holes that we have filled in."

He said the club was now looking at possible solutions to prevent the foxes from getting into the grounds.

Mr Smith added: "We've got gates but they must be squeezing through somewhere.

"We've been told of a box you can get that sends out a signal which dissuades them from coming in. We are looking into whether getting one might help. We haven't looked into the costs yet."

The Vanarama Conference North club is gearing up for a match with Stockport County on Saturday at 3pm.

The Pitmen were formed in 1880 with the amalgamation of two teams, the Red and Whites, who were also known as West Hill and Hill Top.