Council Bans Playing Football In Leicester

WHILE England’s national team continues to struggle, the future looks even worse for the Three Lions, as the next generation of footballing talent apparently can’t even have a kickabout on the street.

The Mail reports that children in the suburban cul de sac of Utah Close in Leicester have been banned by the local council from playing football on the quiet street because it “posed a danger” to the public.

With the officious local authority threatening to hand out £100 fines to parents of children who continue to perform the heinous act of, er, kicking a ball around an empty street and local residents are livid.

Sales Manager Ian Fenton, 43, who has three sons, wonders: “They are treating our children and us as if we are criminals. We want our children playing where we can see them. We moved here so that there was a nice, safe environment for them to play in, where they could interact with other children their own age. Playing in the street is something that has gone on for generations in this country. Now the council want to take it away. It’s ludicrous.”

A county council spokesman responds by saying, “The parish council has been contacted several times in recent years about children setting up goalposts that were blocking the road. It is rare to issue such warnings, and they would be considered only in a case where a persistent problem has been reported by other residents.”

Expect the weight of the local kids to shoot up in the coming year.

£100 fine for kicking a ball? You’ll also get an £80 fine for dropping a cigarette butt.

Anorak

Posted: 1st, June 2007 | In: Money Comment (1) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink