PEOPLE failing to pick up after their pets has led football coaches to consider fencing off a community facility.

Ormsgill Playing Fields in Schneider Road are regularly used by junior and amateur football clubs players and coaches say the facility has fallen into disrepair and is no longer 'fit for purpose'.

As well as a 'sub-standard surface' teams also have to contend with foul finds in the form of piles of dog poo.

Ben Shirley, the chairman of the Junior Football League, said 'enough is enough'.

"It has the potential to be an incredible facility," he added.

"But nothing has been done to improve it for the past decade, the grass isn't cut often enough and people are leaving dog poo all over the pitches.

"The Soccer Bar team actually have someone whose job it is to go round picking up dog poo.

"How ridiculous is that? It's absolutely disgusting."

Mr Shirley, who is also a councillor on Barrow Borough Council and Cumbria County Council, believes investment is needed to bring the facility up to scratch.

"Myself and Tony Callister, who's the development officer for the league, had a meeting with someone from Lancashire Football Association who identified that Barrow is three and-a-half pitches short of what's required based on the demand," he said.

"We don't have sufficient 3G/4G playing surfaces; the only ones we do have in Barrow are not big enough to have full teams of 11 playing against each other."

Mr Shirley said a 'quick fix' to the dog fouling problem would be to put up fences and a gate.

However, ideally he wants to see greater investment, in order to make the most of the community facility.

"This isn't about blaming one organisation; we need to get all parties together, including the council and league, and look at how we can do this," he added.

"We need real leadership for this now and a coordinated effort to apply for funding and get Barrow's facilities to where they should be."