SOCCER pitches owned by Malvern Town Council are in such a poor state that they will need a cash injection of £25,000 a year just to keep them fit for use.

That's verdict of the Sports Turf Research Institute and the National Playing Fields Association, who carried out surveys on the council's behalf.

They concluded that the seven pitches are of such a poor quality that the only solution is for them to be verti-drained on an annual basis, a process whereby turf is mechanically hoed to ensure stronger roots for the grass. This and other improvements would cost at least £25,000 a year, the council's management committee was told.

Torrential rain meant many of last season's fixtures were not completed until the end of May. This has left the council with even less time to carry out improvements before the new season starts midway through August.

The question of where the extra money needed will come from has led the council to consider reviewing the charges they levy on teams using the pitches. Under the present arrangement, teams pay a flat rate for the season which does not take into account how many times they play. The charges may well be reviewed, and probably increased, if and when the council introduces the verti-draining.

Sharon Coxhead, who plays for Malvern Ladies, just one of the teams using the the Victoria Park pitch called it "diabolical".

"In summer it's rock hard and in winter there's never any grass on it," she said. "The surface is covered in bobbles."

Her father Dennis, who manages the team, said he would consider paying more if there was a "dramatic improvement".

Malvern town council's acting parks and amenities manager Nigel King said that the authority was carrying out work to remedy the state of the pitches as best it could.

But he acknowledged that, because of weather difficulties, that work would not be enough.