You say - Pitch battle is joined.

Byline: Chris Cavanagh

I RECENTLY spent 35 minutes assembling a plastic goal for our children's football team (East Villa U12s) match, in the Tuebrook league, on a pitch that had been marked out by the council for what seemed like an 8-a-side game, co-incidentally it was an 11-a-side match being played.

Why do Liverpool Council insist on taking down the goalposts and stop marking the pitches all around Liverpool? Do they not realise that the summer time is the time when most kids will be off school, needing somewhere to play? However they continue year in year out to take their one need in the area away from them.

It would never happen in the USA where everywhere you look there are basketball, baseball and football - both American and our traditional game -fields and facilities all over the place.

People pay their taxes in this city for facilities to be available for our children, so give us back our football pitches and allow our children to continue keeping up the fitness regime that they perform from August to May.

I cannot understand how, when the government is putting forward positive action plans to curb obesity in children, the council take away all the facilities throughout the city.

Chris Cavanagh, via e-mail