A VILLAGE children’s football pitch will be refurbished after £3,500 was raised through a trio of grants.

The pitch, in Tockholes Road, Tockholes, next to The Rock Inn, had turned into a ‘dangerous’ muddy patch.

But after eight months of hard work, Tockholes Parish Council has secured the cash and work is due to begin in January, weather permitting.

Parish council clerk Geraldine Foster began looking into getting the work done at the pitch in May. She has received £1,000 from the Darwen Town Council and Crown Paints Community Awards, £2,000 from The Lloyd Charity and £500 in lottery funding.

She said: “The pitch has not been refurbished for several years and there are nails and things coming up from the old soil, so it has become quite dangerous. They are going to dig it all out and lay some new soil, then turf it.

“We hope to start in January and have it ready for the spring.”

Geraldine said it had taken a while but she was delighted it was finally going to be done.

She said: “It has taken since May, I think, but it has all come together now.

“It doesn’t really matter that it took a bit of time as we have reached our end goal.”

The pitch, which is next to the children’s play area, is part of land belonging to Thwaites which is leased to the parish council.

Tockholes Parish Council chairman Glynn Woon said he was pleased the pitch was being sorted out.

He said: “It is only small for the village kids to have a kick about in but it has become a bit of a mud heap.

“With the youth club in the village and the play area, it is one more amenity for the small number of young children we have in the village.”