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The coach of a kids’ football team had to collect 11 bags of dog poo off one pitch before a game could kick off.

Colin Williams, secretary at Sileby Juniors FC, said the poo-clearing routine is one he and fellow coaches have to carry out every week.

Mr Williams, who coaches the under-15s team, said he spent 20 minutes clearing a pitch of dog poo before their first game of the new season this weekend.

The club, which has more than 100 children from the ages of three to 15 in its 12 teams, plays its home fixtures at Sileby Memorial Park.

“It is disgusting, really,” said Mr Williams. “We should not have to clean the pitches every week before we can allow the children to play.

“We realise we are lucky to play on a public park but all we are asking is that people who walk their dogs pick up after them.

“I think that most people do and are responsible dog owners. The problem we have is that some people don’t scoop up and leave a mess there.

“There is very serious issue here because of the serious illness which can be caused by the parasites in dog mess.

“On one day last season I had to clean up 11 bags of dog poo off just one pitch. It’s horrible.”

Toxocariasis can cause serious illness and can even lead to blindness. It is caused by a parasite, known as Toxocara Canis, also commonly referred to as Roundworm. The Toxocara Canis parasite lives in dogs’ digestive systems.

The club made an appeal on Facebook to all dog owners to take more care.

“There were many messages of support from dog owners as well as non dog owners,” he said.

“Its part of junior football I am afraid and up and down the country there will be football clubs who play on public parks having exactly the same issues as us.

“Sileby Parish council have been really supportive in trying to tackle the problem, they have even installed a dispenser with free poo bags for the public to use and there are of course bins provided on the park.

“However there is a real health risk and every coach will do a sweep of their pitch before their players arrive to make sure we look after the health and safety of our kids and opposition players.

“We don’t want this to put kids off.

“We are always looking for additional players to come and play at Sileby. It’s a fun club and a great place to enjoy your football.”