Council bans ball games on playing field for health and safety reasons

A council has banned children from playing ball sports at a local park – for health and safety reasons. Walsall Council erected a "No Ball Games" notice just yards from another sign that reads "Broadway Playing Fields", to the disbelief of local residents. The ban means that children hoping to emulate England's World Cup heroes this summer will have to look elsewhere, and has been criticised by anti-obesity campaigners.

Tam Fry, chairman of the Child Growth Foundation and spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum, said: "It's absolutely unbelievable – particularly when you have people across Walsall and Sandwell bending over backwards to do something about child obesity. The area is a hot-spot for obesity and at one point was the capital of it in England. Recreation- running around and getting sweaty and playing football is an absolute must for children. They should be allowed to get their 60 minutes worth of exercise a day -and they should get this at the nations parks and playing fields. Councils should be encouraging children to exercise, rather than discouraging it with these stupid signs."



Parents are now worried that the contradictory sign could discourage children from exercising at all or if they do could be fined for doing what comes naturally on a town playing field. David Jones, a 40-year-old builder, said he could not stop laughing when he first noticed the sign. The father-of-two said: "April Fools has been and gone, they are a little late aren't they. It's daft, how can you have a playing field and not play any ball games, the clue is in the title 'playing fields'. They've lost the plot, and confused a bunch of us. My boy wants to go and play footie on it, we're not sure if that's illegal or not.

"But we want children playing and exercising and one of the best way to do it is with a ball, so what are they to do – Stay in doors and play video games? They say it's to do with it being built on a landfill site – but what’s the difference to playing a game of football and running around playing hide and seek or Frisbee." In a statement issued by Walsall Council, Nigel Ilsley, Walsall Council Parks Manager, said: "A sign saying no ball games was put up a few years ago on Broadway West playing fields after land contamination was discovered at the site. The playing fields remain popular and a number of events are hosted there but unfortunately we have had to stop ball games taking place on the site for health and safety reasons.