AN AMATEUR Blackburn football club is embarking on a huge clean-up operation ahead of its cup final matches.

Mill Hill football club is holding a two-day clean up outside its Stancliffe Street ground, after fly-tippers left a sea of waste at the entrance to the club.

The clean-up will take place on Thursday and Friday this week, when volunteers from the club will be out picking up litter from eight o’clock in the morning.

The initiative is being supported by Blackburn with Darwen Council under the Your Community, Your Call banner.

The council has provided the club with litter picking equipment, and the neighbouring Star Tissue factory will be arranging for a skip to be delivered.

Pete Fryer, Mill Hill Football Club’s secretary, said: “We’ve got a lot of junior games played on the ground and a lot of cup finals on the way. It’s at the entrance to the ground and it’s just not safe.

“There’s household rubbish and all sorts. If any of the children walked in it, it’d be all over them.

“It’s just been fly-tipped, and because it’s on private land there’s not a lot the council can do.

“There’s paint, household waste, vegetables, window frames, tree trunks – every bit of waste you can imagine.

“There will be one or two hundred people coming here for the matches and it’s an absolute eyesore. It’s not nice for people to have to walk past it.”

Blackburn Council’s execu-tive member for Environment Jim Smith said: “The council’s Your Call scheme allows residents to take responsibility for issues that are important to them.

“I am proud to support Mill Hill FC in this clean-up and any clean-up that tackles one of our biggest issues within the borough.

“This event will further reduce the damage caused to our communities by fly-tipping.”

Club members are still looking for donations of bags to be used to collect rubbish during the litter pick.

To offer support, contact Pete Fryer on 07713 505884 or Bill Maynard 07813 733595.