YOUNG Teignmouth footballers went to a council meeting and pleaded with councillors: 'Please find us somewhere to play.'

Players and adult coaches from the homeless Broadmeadow club lobbied the town council on Tuesday evening, in their campaign to find a pitch.

One councillor maintained it was 'a scandal' that Teignmouth did not have a ground for the youngsters.

The thriving club has about 120 youngsters from Teignmouth, Shaldon and Bishopsteignton, aged from eight to 16, but they have been barred from the Broadmeadow ground for ten years because it is contaminated by an old rubbish tip.

But instead of folding, they have played on temporary pitches in the area, and the minis are now using the seafront Den, which is often waterlogged, with the added hazards of holes, stones and dog mess. The green is also deteriorating because of the heavy winter use, and football will probably be stopped from the end of the season.

The club is now desperate, and the chairman, Ivor Watts, and two of the players, Sam Jacques, nine, and Max Abraham, 13, eloquently outlined their predicament to the finance and general purposes committee at Bitton House.

The boys so impressed the councillors, they were applauded.

Sam told them he loved playing football and training with his friends, but when they left the Den, where the stones often caused injuries, they had nowhere else to go. Most of the other places they visited had proper clubhouses.

Max emphasised that time was running out, and the situation could not be allowed to drag on any longer.

Mr Watts asked members for their 'help and support', and described the Den as 'very dangerous'. He asked if St Michael's Field at Bishopsteignton, recently acquired by Teignbridge Council for a sports field, could not be utilised for temporary use prior to it being fully developed, which could take some time.

Councillors heaped praise on the sterling work performed by the club and the patience, enthusiasm and determination of the players and managers in the face of awful playing surfaces and no base.

Cllr Sylvia Russell reminded the meeting that the council had been very vocal for many years over the lack of sports pitches in the town, and she was 'just so sorry it is taking so long'.

'If we can pull something out of the hat, we certainly will,' she added.

The mayor, Cllr Fred Tooley, supported the club '100 per cent', and Cllr Geoff Bladon recalled the 25-year saga of trying to bring the Hazeldown pitch into use, but to no avail because of the huge cost of drainage.

Cllr Terry Falcao commented: 'I feel terrible that our children do not have a pitch. It is a scandal that a town of this size does not have a facility for such a healthy activity.'

Cllr David Cox described the club as 'fantastic', but pointed out that Teignbridge wanted 'an all-singing-and-dancing' stadium at Michael's Field before it could be used.

'But the need is now so urgent we should ask Teignbridge to lay out some sort of temporary pitch in time for next season.'

County councillor Chris Bray reported that Hazeldown would cost 'hundreds of thousands of pounds to remedy with maintenance costs of £7,000 to £10,000 a year', which could not be afforded.

It was unanimously agreed to ask Teignbridge to help, and prepare a temporary pitch at Michael's Field for next season.

The Teignbridge leader, Cllr Alan Connett, said he fully sympathised with the club, and would personally ensure that every possibility was explored.

'We have set aside £150,000 for preparatory work on Michael's Field, and are also reliant on developers' contributions, but with the economic downturn, this could be delayed. But we will see if there is any chance to help these young footballers.'