A football club could be forced to close unless it can raise £6,000 to save its pitch from becoming a “muddy swamp”.

Belstone Football Club, in Butterfly Lane, on the Elstree and Radlett boundary, constantly has to cancel games because the ground is too wet to play on.

The issue affects the pitch used by the club's under 16s, 15s, 14s and 13s teams, and the boys are “devastated” when they are turned away from the grounds on Sunday mornings.

Players are now hoping to raise £6,000 – either through a single donation or several smaller ones – to install a drainage system.

Groundsman Glynne Cherington, 54, said: “I always give up my Friday to tend to the pitch and all my hard work is ruined because if it rains on Saturday night there’s nothing I can do. It becomes a muddy swampland.

“I try to keep spirits high because it’s a great little community club but it’s just unfair on all the boys who love playing here.”

Jeremy Pepper, who coaches the under 13s team that his twin boys, Ed and George play for, says without better drainage, the club will have to shut for good.

The 51-year-old said: “It is soul destroying when we have to cancel a match, and it happens near enough every week during the football season because it constantly rains.

“There’s so much muck, gunk and sludge on the ground – it’s disgusting. We can never predict the weather so cancelling the matches is always a last-minute thing.

“The boys train so hard every week and all they want to do is play a game on a Sunday, that’s what they work towards, and it’s frustrating when they can’t.”

When it rains, the pitches can be left beneath four to five inches of water, which also attracts ducks and herons.

Teenagers have been playing for the club since 1992 and it is completely self-supported, except for occasional grants from Hertsmere Borough Council and Aldenham Parish Council.

In contrast, the seniors team, who play on a different pitch are “thriving” and regularly win trophies and cups and league tournaments.

Young players Ed and George Pepper said: “We love the club and we love coming here and would hate for it to have to close, we’d be devastated. We hope we can raise enough money to sort the pitch out.”

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