A WYRE Forest sports ground is set for a major facelift after netting a football grant of more than £240,000.

The cash, from the Football Foundation, will allow the Far Forest Society to revamp the Callow Hill Sports Ground, near Bewdley, with the building of a modern pavilion and the provision of an extra pitch.

The new pavilion will replace the "temporary" structures that have doubled as changing rooms since the 1970s and are without running water or electricity.

The total cost of the scheme is £450,000 and grants have also come from the Department For Environment Fisheries And Rural Affairs, Biffaward, Awards for All, Wyre Forest District Council and a number of trusts.

Project co-ordinator, Rob Simmonds, said the outdated facilities had severely limited the development of the game in the area.

"The Far Forest Society has been working and hoping for this for a long time," he explained.

"So many people in the community have supported this bid at fund-raising events and we're all delighted that our children, and future generations, will have a fantastic modern facility to use and enjoy."

It is hoped that the society will be able to attract more new players, particularly juniors and girls, and that the new facilities will be ready by the start of the 2005 season.

Football Foundation chief executive, Peter Lee, welcomed the latest boost to grass roots football.

He said: "No player should have to put up with sub-standard facilities in the modern game.

"The foundation is creating a new generation of inclusive facilities for everyone to enjoy and congratulations go to the Far Forest Society for putting something back into community sports."