THREE girls football teams could be without a pitch on which to play their home games this coming season as a water leak has left it unusable. The pitch, which is part of the St Neots Sports Association complex opposite St Neots Common, was fine until ab

THREE girls' football teams could be without a pitch on which to play their home games this coming season as a water leak has left it unusable.

The pitch, which is part of the St Neots Sports Association complex opposite St Neots Common, was fine until about eight weeks ago when the water started to appear.

The leak was reported to Anglian Water, but its engineers could find no record of any pipework under the field.

However, according to Phil Yates, the association's treasurer, the water is definitely fresh - he said he has tasted it - and is allegedly coming from an underground pipe.

He said while the rest of the field has been dried out by the sun, there is a patch, about 10m by 3m, where the grass is long and dark green and the earth soggy and waterlogged.

"Anglian Water has been out on three occasions and still can't find anything, but it's very obvious that there's a problem," he told The Hunts Post.

"We've been told there's no pipework in the field but the locals say there is - they believe it leads to the cottages on Mill Lane."

Mr Yates, 57, said Anglian Water suggested the water could be caused by the land being in an area with a high water table. However, he stressed this was very improbable.

He added: "There are three girls' football teams which will be wanting to start using the pitch in about 10 days time, but at the moment it is unplayable."

The area affected by the leak is also getting bigger, according to Mr Yates, and the water is beginning to turn stagnant.

A spokesman for Anglian Water said the complaint had been logged although its investigations into the source of the water had so far proved inconclusive.

She added: "We will be sending someone out again in the next few days to test if the water contains chlorine. If it does, then this is evidence the water is from one of our pipes.

"We are working to get the matter sorted as quickly as possible."

The pitch is used by the under 13s, 15s and 16s from St Neots Town girls club. Players are due back in training in August to prepare for the forthcoming season which is due to kick off on September 9.