Young Arbroath footballers are having to tackle their toughest opponents before even kicking a ball in anger on local pitches.
Rabbits have taken over pitches beside the town’s high school in a situation club coaches say is getting out of control.
And they fear it is only a matter of time before a young player suffers a serious injury tripping on a rabbit hole.
Park chiefs say they are doing what they can to keep the pitches in good order.
But council leisure trust Angus Alive admits budget pressures are making it difficult to get the issue under control.
Regular complaints over state of Arbroath football pitches
Jonny Booth of Arbroath Youth FC said the committee regularly comes under fire over the state of the grass pitches.
“We have more than 500 players from age four to 17,” said Jonny.
“Coaches are going out and filling the rabbit holes before games but it is just a ridiculous situation now.
“We use the pitches all the time for training and matches.
“We’re paying good money to Angus Alive to use them.
“There are two 11-a-side, two 7-a-side and one 9-a-side pitches. The 7-a-side pitches are just dreadful.
“The high school pitches are definitely the worst.
“The athletics club train there too so they are facing the same problems.”
“It feels like our committee is getting bombarded with complaints from parents but we are trying our best.
“We’ve noticed a real deterioration since Covid.
“We’ve sat down with the council and there’s always promises. But it’s still a real problem and it’s very frustrating.
“Is it going to take a bad accident when a kid goes over and breaks their ankle for it to be sorted?”
Angus Alive responds to pitches criticism
Angus Alive said rabbits are a costly menace.
“Although we want to provide anyone who uses the pitches at Arbroath Sports Centre with the best experience possible, rabbit holes in the area do cause a challenge for both Angus Alive and Angus Council for a range of reasons,” said a spokesperson.
“Angus Council have offered to leave containers for soil so that these rabbit holes can be filled by users after inspection to prevent risk of injury.
“This is not dissimilar to what is done in Montrose at Broomfield where there are similar challenges with rabbit holes.”
They added: “Routine programme grass cuts and additional grass cuts take place, particularly with it being a high growth area.
“The grass is cut every two weeks between the end of March and end of October.
“And the pitches are lined every two weeks during the football season.
“Additional cuts in between are also undertaken if required.
“Like all public sector organisations at the moment, there are budgetary challenges to go further with regards to rabbit control which means we are limited to what we can do in terms of additional measures.”
