A MAJOR independent study has attacked the state of playing pitches across Worcester - saying too many are just not good enough.

Nearly 18 months ago consultants were asked to review the provision of sports fields across the city by council chiefs.

A worrying 128-page dossier has now been published, revealing:

- There is "a significant issue" over the quality, with council-owned football pitches in the worst condition

- Problems with dog fouling, litter and poor maintenance like grass cutting and marking have all been flagged up

- Nowhere near enough have changing rooms, with some football teams resorting to travelling out of the city rather than use "largely basic" facilities

- Only half of Worcester's 51 football pitches are secured for long-term use, meaning a "high proportion could be withdrawn at any time"

- The overall quality of them was assessed as "standard" but a "high proportion are on the verge of a poor rating"

The work saw Cheshire-based consultants examine the sites and spend time talking with a huge array of football clubs, FA-affiliated officials, players, coaches and volunteers before coming to its conclusions.

Worcester City Council, which has called it a "warts-and-all" report, has defended its pitches by saying since the work was complete many are now improved.

But the findings have alarmed some councillors, who said were shocked at some of the "damning" findings during a cabinet meeting.

Councillor Roger Berry, a former Mayor of Worcester, said: "There are some very damning comments in there - it certainly asks questions of the level of maintenance we've got on our pitches.

"It talks about poor goal mouths, the lack of changing facilities, five matches a year called off due to poor maintenance - football in particular plays a major role in Worcester."

Labour Councillor Paul Denham said he was "depressed" and "staggered" by some of the content.

Councillor Simon Geraghty, the leader, said: "The report is a very open, very honest one which looks at the facilities we have.

"We want to improve them - the report does also say there are good facilitates in the city, and hopefully through Section 106 agreements (cash from developers in return for getting planning permission) we can make further improvements."

David Sutton, the council's head of cleaner and greener, said: "The report was presented on a warts-and-all basis.

"It's been done over an 18-month period and at the time there was concern over the quality of pitches, but some of the recent feedback I've had is that they're in the best condition they've ever been in."

But Tim Phillips, secretary of the Worcester & District League, said: "From a Worcester league point of view there has been a reduction in the number of pitches, a big bug bear is at Perdiswell, where they've got changing rooms but we can't use them because of the standard of the surface.

"We've got Pitchcroft but the changing rooms are out the dark ages there, it needs knocking down.

"The number of teams have reduced in the last couple of years from 30 down to around 20."

The work was done to advise councils in Worcester, Wychavon and Malvern on how to create enough pitches to meet future demand.

As well as football it looked at other sports like cricket, rugby and hockey.

SOME OF THE REPORT'S FINDINGS

- The "quality of council pitches is perceived to be poor and deteriorating", with too many at "a basic level"

- "Issues with the perceived (and actual) quality of pitches is in particular associated with Worcester City Council facilities"

- During site visits they were found to be "standard to poor", with the maintenance only deemed acceptable because they were only used once a week

- Feedback from clubs was "significantly more negative" in Worcester than other parts of south Worcestershire, with just 10 per cent saying the facilities were good enough compared to 35 per cent in Malvern and Wychavon

- "Poor maintenance", the "amount of pitches the right size" and the "quality of changing accommodation" were the key reasons for dissatisfaction

- There are teams "travelling out of the city to play" and "concerns from teams" about Worcester not having enough pitches to meet demand

- Overall quality is "a significant issue" with standing water, drainage and flooding also raised as concerns