A row has broken out over the removal of goal posts from a Bolton football pitch.

Elected representatives in Westhoughton claim that Bolton Council has removed goal posts at St James Street playing fields and is 'refusing' to put them back.

But the Council leadership claims it has done so for 'safety reasons.'

In a social media video post Cllr Dierdre McGeown, said: "We’re on St James Street Playing Fields here and we’ve had complaints from residents about the state of the goal posts.

"Apparently, they were falling over because they were rotten at the base."

Cllr Ollie Younge continued the post.

He said: "We’ve asked Bolton Council to replace the goal posts, but they said they couldn’t because of the surface.

"To make matters worse, they’ve removed the other goal."

Cllr Gillian Wroe then said: "It’s ridiculous that Bolton Council can’t even maintain a football field for the children to play on when we’ve had all the excitement of the World Cup in 2022 and we’ve got Bolton Council saying how they’re going to be supporting the forthcoming rugby tours."

Finally Cllr David Wilkinson said: "Many residents and parents whose children use this playing field at St James Street will be extremely annoyed about Bolton Council’s decision not to replace the goal posts.

"It allowed people to have a little game of football with the kids playing here.

"We will be pressing Bolton Council to reverse their decision and to reinstate the goal posts."

The councillors have asked Bolton Council to replace the football posts but the authority, they say, has refused to do so.

Responding to the complaints, a spokesperson for Bolton Council explained the reasoning behind the removal.

He said: "The goalposts were removed for safety reasons because the metal had rotted.

“Fixed posts can also lead to considerable wear and tear on the turf surface of the goalmouth area, which can eventually lead to standing water and necessitate costly refurbishment.

“By encouraging the use of more informal ‘posts’, we can ensure the wear is spread more evenly across the surface while creating space for activities other than football.”