A STATE-of-the-art synthetic football pitch planned for South Dartmoor Community College at Ashburton is set to benefit the whole community.

So says college principal Ray Tarleton (pictured right) who insists the £750,000 scheme will, at times, be open to members of the public.

The pitch, which will be floodlit, has been made possible by a £535,396 grant from the Football Foundation which has the college as one of its charter standard schools.

'We are absolutely delighted,' Mr Tarleton said, 'as sport is a very big part of our activities. But it is very much a community bid.'

Construction work on the pitch - to be built two fields away from the school - will start in April, 'when it's dry,' Mr Tarleton said. optimistically, with September pencilled in as the completion date.

The sand-based 'rubber crumb' pitch will revolutionise football at the school where the sport has had to be played in boggy conditions.

'It will increase the opportunities for local clubs and local schools,' the principal said, ' and I'm looking to develop girls football which is quite strong here and extend the work with pupils who have special needs.'

Getting young people involved in sport would enhance their lifestyle and could even cut crime, Mr Tarleton maintained.

The school has just built new PE changing rooms so facilities were 'really forging ahead,' he added, and the foundation's grant allowed other monies to be triggered, making the pitch possible.

Mr Tarleton paid tribute to director of sport Steve Dinney and Jason Trevarthen, head of physical education, for the 'massive amount' of work they had put in preparing the bid. It amounted to two cardboard boxes full of work and was eventually sent off under Securicor guard. He also thanked Dave Keast, Devon's FA development officer for his work.

The school has more than 75 different sporting clubs operating during the week, starting as early as 8am and continuing into the evening.

Simon Taylor, of the Football Foundation, said the pitch would be 'third generation' using the latest technology which made it feel as much like grass as possible.

It was used by teams such as Real Madrid, Manchester United and Ajax and UEFA and FIFA were looking to have it sanctioned for use during normal games.