It's been my displeasure as editor of this newsletter to sometimes report stories of mindless destructive acts carried out on sporting facilities.

It's an unfortunate fact that quite regularly we come across reports of golf courses or public playing fields which have been ripped up and vandalised in some way - often with the use of a vehicle.

The other upsettingly common occurrence is that of thefts from groundsman's storage areas. Hand in hand with this is often damage to property.

But one which I don't recall having to cover very often is that of fly tipping on turfed sports surfaces. So it was an unpleasant shock to read about a recent experience which the London Playing Fields Foundation had to suffer.

Earlier this year the LPFF, which is the capital’s leading body for the protection, provision and promotion of playing fields in London, found itself victim to industrial-scale fly-tipping. A group of intruders broke into one of their grounds in Greenford and covered an entire football pitch with rubbish.

What made matters even worse for the LPFF was that the intruders then claimed squatter’s rights and stayed for ten days, leaving damage estimated at more than £100,000 in their wake. The LPFF say that despite attending twice during this time, local police officers took no affirmative action.

Writing on their blog, LPFF chief executive Alex Welsh said, "Although we have insurance cover, the amount of fly-tipping goes way beyond any normal provision and the compensation pay-out will probably just be a fraction of the actual cost of clearing the site. The rubbish comprises mostly domestic building waste, and it is clear that a highly organised and sophisticated criminal operation is at work.

"Having secured the site, the intruders knew that they had several days in which to cover the site with rubbish before we were able to get rid of them through the courts."

This is truly shocking that the criminals could carry on damaging LPFF's property for days. It makes no logical sense whatsoever.

Alex Walsh continued, "As a charity set up for the common good, to protect, provide and promote spaces for people to play sport, we are intensely frustrated that we are left to foot the bill for an obvious criminal act in which these trespassers acted with apparent impunity while the police appeared to be powerless. This whole episode has made us realise how vulnerable playing fields are to this type of criminal activity. And what makes it worse, being a charity not funded by the council tax payer but instead dependent on hiring income, we now have a pitch that we can no longer rent.

"The extensive damage to the pitch and serious vandalism to the pavilion, where all boilers and pipework were ripped out, means that it will be a long time before the pitch and ancillary facilities will be fit for use. And spare a thought for one of our resident clubs, London Tigers, who have been forced to find an alternative home venue for the foreseeable future."

The LPFF quote statistics which say that nationwide it is estimated that this £1billion racket cost over £50million in 2016 and of the 315,000 cases launched by Councils only 2,135 cases came to court. The average fine was £370.

Alex Walsh concludes by saying, "This is a pitiful response to what is an epidemic so isn’t it about time that the Government changed the law, strengthened enforcement measures and ensured that the punishments meted by the courts fit the crime?"

And I have to say I agree with Alex. It is unbelievable that criminals can get away with acts of fly tipping for so long under the auspices of squatter rights - and then not to be adequately punished is rubbing salt in the wounds of those affected.

Have grounds which you look after ever suffered from fly tipping such as this? Please feel free to leave a comment below.