The worst amateur football pitch in the UK has been found in Salisbury.

Pitch To Win, a national competition, sponsored by Briggs & Stratton, aimed to find a team whose pitch was in need of a £3000 make over and South Newton and Wishford FC won.


Briggs & Stratton's Ian Small presents the £3000 cheque to South Newton & Wishford FC's Harry and Paul Russell

The team from Salisbury was the unanimous winner among the judges. the team had an incredibly difficult 2013/14 season and struggled to fit rearranged fixtures into the season, eventually being forced to forfeit games and having the expense of indoor practice or travelling to other grounds - all because of their bad pitch.

The flooding at South Newton and Wishford's ground meant that the pitch was unusable for most of the season, when the waters receded the the extent of the damage became visible leaving behind dead grass, potholes and an incredibly uneven, hard surface.

The competition was spotted by under 13 player Harry Russell, who thought this could be a lifeline for their pitch and persuaded his dad and assistant team coach Paul to enter. Paul said, "Winning Pitch To Win is a brilliant way to turn round what has been a very tough season.

"The state of our pitch meant that we simply couldn't play on it - it really put our season in jeopardy. It was only thanks to the tremendous hard work of our groundsman that we managed to finish the season at all.

"South Newton is a relatively small club, with a long and celebrated history and great ambitions for the future, but we have extremely limited resources. Briggs & Stratton's help is the answer to our prayers as it will allow us to improve drainage and cure the problems so we can create a great playing surface and hopefully have a much better season next year."


The damaged goalmouth

As well as the £3000 pitch makeover the team will also receive a season's sponsorship and a brand new kit.

Ian Small, UK sales and marketing manager at Briggs & Stratton, commented, "We were inundated with entries for Pitch To Win, perhaps as a result of the bad weather and flooding at the beginning of the year. The standard of entries was really high and judging was not easy, but South Newton and Wishford's entry really stood out.

"Amateur football can be the heart of the community, and South Newton and Wishford really reminded us of that. They've had a tough season because of their pitch so it's great to be able to help them out. They really are very deserving and I hope the pitch makeover helps them be victorious in the future!"

Two runners up teams were also chosen who will each win £500 for the club's kitty as well as a season's sponsorship and a brand new kit.

The runners up were Hedon Rangers in Hull and Newhaven FC in Sussex.