PLAYERS and coaches from a well-known football club are celebrating after a community group saved its pitches for future generations.

Ten teams from Billingham Synthonia Juniors FC train and play at Central Avenue in Billingham, which could have been sold by land owners Coulby Capital Ltd.

But a new group, Phoenix Community Services CIC run by club chairman Nicky Brown and Malcolm Deighan, stepped in to help.

Mr Brown and business partner Mr Deighan, both Billingham residents who already run their own training company and have worked with young people for many years, led the bid to Sport England’s Protected Playing Fields fund, to secure the land.

Mr Brown said: “We are pleased to say that following a lengthy bid process, competing against 97 other similar projects, Sport England have awarded

£50,000 to secure the land for 25 years, not only for the teams that currently play and train on the ground but for the wider community too.

“I am absolutely overjoyed. We are not experienced bid writers, our skills are working with the young people themselves.

“The thought of losing this fantastic facility spurned us on to find funding that would help us secure and, potentially enable us to further develop the land for future generations too.

“I would especially like to thank Steve Bagshaw and Bridget Hall at Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, both were great in their support to us as we pursued our National Lottery Sport England bid.”

Mr Brown also thanked the company on behalf of the juniors for their continued sponsorship for the last six years and Tony Williamson, the club welfare officer, for his time securing sponsorship.

He also said that he hoped that more people in the community, as well as local sports clubs, would become involved and use the facilities in the future.