Damaged fence at Thurso park is ‘serious safety hazard’ for footballers
Amateur football clubs are warning that a damaged section of fencing at a public park in Thurso represents a “serious safety hazard”.
Part of the high fence behind one of the goalmouths at Ormlie Park is badly broken, with a large gap in one area where dangerously jagged points stick out.
A goalkeeper suffered nasty grazing to his neck before a Caithness Amateur Football Association match in midweek, while it has emerged that last year another player ended up with a cut to the mouth – and came close to losing an eye.
Ormlie is home to High Ormlie Hotspur and Top Joe’s, who play in the county league first and second divisions respectively. Both clubs have been asking Highland Council to resolve the issue.
The park is council-owned and is managed by High Life Highland.
The latest incident happened on Tuesday night when Keiss goalkeeper Ben Sutherland caught his neck on the fence at the Henderson Street end while going to retrieve a ball during the warm-up ahead of a league game against High Ormlie Hotspur.
Sutherland was able to play, after some treatment, but photos taken at the time show painful-looking cutting and scratching across the front of his neck.
Keiss manager Bradley Thomson said: “When I saw it I was quite concerned.
“The potential is there for someone to hurt themselves more seriously than has happened.
“If someone comes in at the back post to try and head the ball, even if you ran into the fence it would be sore – but if your neck gets caught on that when you’re running at full pelt it’s going to hurt.”
Thomson described it as “a serious safety hazard”, adding: “It does seem to have become far worse from last year to this year and needs addressing as soon as possible.”
Liam Sutherland, who is part of the High Ormlie Hotspur management team, said: “The issue with the fencing was first reported to the council over a year ago. Since then, the condition has continued to deteriorate.
“While the fencing is in poor shape behind both goals, the section running alongside Henderson Street is the most serious concern. It’s adjacent to a public road and footpath, and its condition poses a real hazard.
“We are very concerned about player safety. Sections of the fence have rusted, collapsed and exposed sharp edges, which have caused injuries in the past.
“We had a player end up in hospital last season after running into it and catching his mouth on one of the sharp edges. There have been countless near misses as well.
“The current state of the fencing puts not just players but also spectators and passers-by at unnecessary risk.
“We strongly believe this issue needs to be addressed urgently. As a rural community with limited sports infrastructure, it’s vital that we keep the pitch safe and usable for everyone who relies on it.”
Murray Mackay, then with High Ormlie Hotspur and now at Thurso Pentland, was the player who hurt his mouth prior to a game last year.
He said: “The sun was out and the line of wire was pretty invisible to me. It cut open my mouth and if it was three inches higher it probably would have taken my eye out.
“I wasn’t able to play and had to have it medically looked over.”
Bruce Cormack, manager and a committee member of Top Joe’s, said: “The goal nearest the road end is really bad. If the ball goes behind you’ve always got to go and get it.
“A few times I’ve had to duck my head to go through it and that’s really, really dangerous.
“It must have been first noted two or three years ago. It was certainly brought to their [the council]’s attention within the last year or two. It’s bad at both ends, to be honest.
“One of our boys went and got a quote for pricing of materials, just to pass on to them – I don’t know if they have done. It was maybe £3500 to £4000 sort of price.
“I was saying to the boys before, it would be better if the fence was just taken down until this is resolved.
“It’s not just getting tangled up and twisting your knee or your ankle – that could sever something. It could be a really bad injury, and how quickly can you get an ambulance up?
“Also, as it’s a council pitch, a lot of school kids go up and play on it. So if they are up there, often unsupervised, what happens if they get injured going to get their ball when it goes through the fence?”
Cormack says dog-fouling is also a worry at Ormlie Park.
“A lot of folk up there run their dogs on the pitch, which is fine, but they don’t pick up after them,” he said.
“Dog-fouling has been a problem for a long, long time. There is no need for it, to be honest.
“There are a lot of ongoing issues up there but those are my two main ones.”
Councillor Karl Rosie, who represents Thurso and Northwest Caithness on Highland Council, said: “The immediate priority will be to remove any existing hazards that remain.
“Understanding and addressing why reporting mechanisms have prevented the assessment of problems, along with a clearly communicated response plan, is required as a matter of urgency.”
A Highland Council spokesperson said: “Ormlie Park is a council-owned site which is managed by High Life Highland. A work ticket was raised within the council’s property asset management system to formally record the extent of the damage to fencing.
“With this, a property officer will attend the site in due course to make an in-person assessment of the damage and potential options for repair, along with the associated costing. The council cannot currently comment further until this site visit and assessment have been made to determine any next steps.”