Hampton Rangers Launch New Pitch

1.15.00pm GMT Mon 24th Jan 2005

On Saturday Hampton youth football club, the Hampton Rangers, opened their new training pitch on Hydes Field, the Thames Water site, off Oldfield Road, with MP Vincent Cable cutting the tape.

The club was founded 40 years ago by a local policeman, PC Rice, to help keep local teenagers occupied and off the streets. It was badly affected several years ago when vandals burned down its changing room at the main pitch in Hatherop Park and also seriously damaged the facilities at Hydes Field leading to the closure. Lack of facilities almost led to their being excluded from the youth league.

Since then local parents, led by Billy Martin, have successfully fought back. There is now a temporary changing room at Hatherop Park and Hydes Field has been transformed by a new practice pitch - floodlit and with artificial turf - and changing room.

Vincent Cable, who has worked with the parents to obtain backing from Thames Water, said that the Saturday launch was " a heart warming story of how a few committed parents can really make a difference to the local community. Hampton has a serious shortage of activities for young people. If there wasn't a well run football club, youngsters would hang around on the street. I was delighted to see that the club is ambitious to grow - it is building up a girls' team - and is planning to do more to improve the main facilities at Hatherop Park".