Teenagers fight with hammers on cricket pitch
A cricket club has been forced to build a fence around its ground after being plagued by groups of teenagers fighting with hammers and knives on its pitch.
Maghull Cricket Club in Merseyside has seen 25 police reports of people harassing players, setting off fireworks and vandalising equipment since July 2024.
Officials say they have suffered years of 'disgraceful incidents' that have left children training at the club in tears.
They now plan to raise money to build a fence that will block violent teenagers from accessing the ground.
Emily Spurrell, Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside, told a community meeting that building the fence would help 'design out crime'.
Neil Dutton, the club secretary, told the BBC: 'It's not just kids strolling around and then doing it on a whim. It's like they're coming to the cricket club to cause trouble.
'I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if some kids did not come back and I couldn't blame the parents either.
'It hurts our standing within the league we play in and it's not a good look for us or the community as a whole.'
Practice had to be abandoned
Earlier in May, around 50 children aged nine to 13 were waiting to play cricket when a fight broke out between teenagers on the pitch.
The practice had to be abandoned and the children were escorted to safety, officials said on the club's Facebook page.
They wrote: 'Sadly, we must report to the people of Maghull another in a long list of disgraceful incidents that have blighted our club for several years.
'Tonight, during a junior section practice evening, a number of youths have congregated on our pitch and engaged in organised fighting, delaying the start of the session.
'A short while later, more youths appeared, fighting and threatening each other with hammers, knives, a garden spade and a stump stolen from our practice area.'
Club chairman Adam Lloyd told the BBC the fight had been 'traumatising' for those who witnessed it.
'The kids had never seen anything like it before, some were crying,' he said.
'It's a family club – when I was a kid my dad dragged me along to the cricket – his dad was the same. I've got my kids playing cricket, we are all invested in this club because we love doing it.'
Truly terrifying
A mother who witnessed the fight said: 'I was there this evening with my eight and 10-year-old. It was truly terrifying.
'I would like to just say a massive thank you to the adults, especially the men/fathers, involved with the club, who quickly stepped in ushering the children to safety and stepping in bravely to defend them if needed. You didn't hesitate to take action and it didn't go unnoticed.'
Merseyside Police said that a 14-year-old male from Maghull, who was arrested on suspicion of affray, possession of weapon in a public place and possession of a controlled Class B drug, had been released under investigation.
A 17-year-old male from Kirkby later attended a voluntary interview in connection with being in possession of cannabis and a public order offence.
A police investigation is continuing.
Bill Esterson, Labour MP for Sefton Central, said the fight was a 'real wake-up call' that was 'disturbing and hugely upsetting for the children playing cricket'.
He told the BBC: 'Thankfully the adults intervened and prevented something much worse from happening. Goodness knows what would have happened if people had used the weapons they were carrying.'
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