A JUNIOR football club fears it will be booted off a playing field if plans for a drive-through restaurant and a nursery go ahead.

Seven teams from Farnworth Juniors Football Club use the playing fields at St Gregory's School for their Saturday morning matches.

But two chunks of the lower field used by the under eights will go if plans to build a McDonald's on one section and a Surestart support centre on another go ahead.

Bill Eaton, chairman of the football club, said up to 90 children from the club play football there every weekend.

"We are not allowed to play on full-size pitches so we struggle to find mini pitches to play on. The younger ones play on the lower field.

"If these two plans go ahead we will be left with a strip of land which isn't worth having. The council says it is investing in sport facilities so why consider selling off part of a playing field?"

The drive-through would be built on the council car park on Higher Market Street and a 20-metre-deep strip of the adjoining field.

McDonald's has said it is willing to discuss the plan with worried residents.

Surestart, which offers support services for families, would be built next to Grosvenor nursery school which would be knocked down to make a car park.

A council spokesman said that they had not known that football teams played on the lower unmarked field.

He said: "Only a small part of the field will be used so there should still be enough room but we need to talk to this group to determine that.

"We have consulted with lots of people around the area but were not aware of this."

Down in the dumps - team member six-years-old Oliver Rothwell.