A GWENT football club suffered at the hands of vandals when their £200,000 training pitch at their home venue.

Risca United chairman Stuart Luckwell said local vandals are being given a "free hand" to "carry wanton destruction".

He claims the club's Ty-Isaf Park home venue has been "rendered useless".

Yobs attacked the facility and set fire to the the astro-turf pitch last autumn.

Now the former policeman wants Caerphilly council to take preventative steps to ensure the ground is kept safe to host MacWhirter Welsh League football matches.

"Some time ago the Football Association of Wales spent a lot of money which the council added to, so that a £200,000 Astro-turf training area with floodlights could be installed next to our ground," explained Mr Luckwell.

"But as soon as it was put in, probably in a matter of weeks, the local yobs wrecked it and now only the floodlights work.

"The council has slipped up in my opinion by not putting up a perimeter fence with a lockable gate around it to give some sort of control either to us or someone else to make sure everything is in order."

Drunken yobs are also throwing glass and cans onto the playing pitch.

Mr Luckwell said the club wanted a perimeter fence.

"We're not asking for the entire park to be shut up," he said.

A council spokesman said: "The park is a community space so the council would not be able to fence off the pitch or restrict access to the public.

"We are currently talking to the club and the local police to look at ways of tackling this problem in the future."

A Gwent Police spokesman said officers were investigating incidents at the park.

He said: "We are looking to tackle problems of disorder at the park on a daily basis with high visiibility patrols."