A HISTORIC sports club has taken delivery of a new tractor to keep its football pitches up to modern playing standards.

The arrival of the Kubota stV36 at the Feniscowles and Pleasington War Memorial Trust’s recreation ground in Blackburn has delighted its ground staff.

Trustee Cllr John Pearson said: "It might seem a small thing but it's massive to us."

The second-hand tractor, which cost £13,000 including a £6,500 grant from the Football Foundation, will be housed in a new £30,000 garage and workshop.

Chris Green, the trustee in charge of the grounds, said: "It will make a huge difference.

"It is replacing a 1955 tractor, can take more appliances, has special turf tyres and has a special grass cutter fitted underneath it. It is a lot more versatile than the old one.

"We are delighted with it, especially the groundsman Lee Brown whose like a child with a new toy.

"It will make it much easier to keep the pitches in tip-top condition."

Last month the club approved propsoals to press ahead with a £600,000 pavilion.

The trust was set up in 1921 when the land was given to the public as a memorial to 36 men who died in the First World War, and the social club was created in 1979.

Cllr Pearson said: "It will help keep the grounds in good condition while building work goes ahead with the new pavilion before our centenary in 2021."