FURIOUS football clubs have complained about bikers 'tearing up' their pitches in the town.

Teams in Horwich have arrived to train at the field in Green Lane to find it churned up and some members have witnessed people on bikes riding across the field.

Horwich RMI Juniors Football Club posted a picture of two bikers on the pitches on New Year's Eve.

A spokesman added that it was 'unbelievable' that some people think it was alright to ruin the pitches.

Colin Myers, chairman of the club, said: "Obviously the concern for us is that we are a local amateur football club and it is a big cost for us to look after the pitch.

"For the local people, this is affecting their health and wellbeing because they can not play football.

"It is just disrespectful. There are people who turn up every week and maintain the pitches.

"They try and keep them in good quality and this is just disrespectful to them and the people trying to play."

Daniel Holmes, a coach at Horwich St Mary's Football Club, which uses a different section of Green Lane playing fields, said he has had similar trouble at their main training pitch at Scholes Bank.

Mr Holmes has been part of the campaign to bring updated sporting facilities to the town, including the under-construction 3G pitch in Old Station Park.

He said: "It is outrageous really.

"We have been campaigning for sports facilities in our town and fair play to Bolton Council, they have given us that.

"But then they just get ripped up and ruined by thing like this.

"But what can you do apart from start fencing the fields off? There is not much we can do.

"All the clubs pay a lot of money for the upkeep of the pitches.

"We have got to spend the money to keep the pitches at a good level.

"I just can not understand why people would think this is OK. They have seen the amount of work that goes into it and what it take to make sure everything is right.

"It is obviously non-footballing people who do not appreciate it. They do not appreciate what we are trying to do."

He added that, with the loss of green space around Horwich, the fields left needed to be protected.

And he said some of the clubs were looking at trying to get fencing in place to prevent incidents like this taking place.

Horwich RMI Juniors have called on the townsfolk to work together to get fencing installed.