A FOOTBALL League game was put at risk by louts who hurled beer glasses onto a pitch.
Broken glass was discovered near to one of the goalmouths at the Highbury Avenue stadium on Saturday morning, just hours before Fleetwood Town was due to kick off against Aldershot in Division Two.
And CCTV footage revealed people leaving the adjoining Highbury Social Club after midnight had hurled two glasses over the football club wall.
One of the glasses broke on the pitch and four ground staff spent three hours in a fingertip search to make sure the area was safe for play to go ahead.
Police are now investigating and club bosses are asking for the social club’s help in catching the culprits.
Chief executive Steve Curwood said: “Fortunately our ground staff are here at 6am on match days and spotted the glass.
“If the referee had found glass he wouldn’t have hesitated to call the game off.
“This definitely put the match at risk.
“It would have been very embarrassing for the club, apart from the money lost in staging the game.
“When we had searched the area, we were completely satisfied it was safe.”
The footage shows a group of men leaving the club and urinating on walls, jumping on a bench and peering over the football club wall.
Then two glasses are thrown onto the playing surface.
Mr Curwood added: “It’s terrible to think we could risk losing a fixture because of actions of such people.”
Highbury Social Club secretary Ron Wakefield condemned the vile behaviour.
He added: “Let’s get the police in and we will prosecute them.
“I would condemn this sort of behaviour.”
Although it is a member’s club, Mr Wakefield said Friday was a darts night when the venue was open to all.
He added: “I would be very surprised if these people are members of this club.”
Relations between the football club and social club became strained earlier this year when the Town bosses offered to buy the club a new home so they could expand the stadium.
But the social club turned them down and elected to stay in a corner of the Highbury ground, limiting the soccer club’s expansion hopes.
Sgt Sarah Sharman, of Fleetwood Police, confirmed officers were now looking into the matter.
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