FOOTBALL pitches at a Letchworth GC recreation ground have been given a new lease of life as part of a regeneration campaign.

Six football pitches at Gaunts Way Recreation Ground will remain open throughout the winter thanks to a grant from Transform Your Patch.

The nine month campaign, a joint initiative between environmental regeneration charity Groundwork, and soft drinks company Britvic and PepsiCo, aimed to raise money through drinks sales to provide funding for community open spaces.

Last year one of the pitches was not in use during the winter months to enable the turf to recover, but the grant has enabled comprehensive repair work to take place during the summer to revitalise the pitches.

Vaughan Watson, North Herts District Council’s head of leisure and environmental services, said: “We are very grateful to Britvic’s ‘Transform Your Patch’ initiative and to Groundwork for providing the additional funding to regenerate Gaunts Way. We are delighted to be able to bring all six football pitches back-up-to-scratch so that the community can continue to use and enjoy the whole recreational ground.