ROVERS boss Graeme Souness has recently given his support to a call for more PE in schools in a bid to increase children's activity and fitness and although the issue of obesity in children and adults is related to additional factors, school curriculum is an obvious place to start.

School curriculum does not involve payment on the part of the school child.

Unfortunately, children's involvement in sport outside school will often depend on the ability to pay for the use of facilities and even that varies between areas of East Lancashire.

Schoolchildren in Rishton have a choice between using the park and recreational areas for football and in nearly all cases, these are in isolated areas, plagued by dogs, sloped and rutted risking injury, or they can pay for the facilities at Primetime.

My sons have paid over £20 to rent half the all-weather pitch for an hour. Considering the number of years this facility has been in the making, it should be better planned and equipped than it is.

There were no nets provided and the fence is low enough to let the football go over and into the canal. If children climb the fence to use school playing fields, they may risk being reported for trespassing and yet in the evenings at one school in Blackburn, children play on a floodlit pitch, free I presume.

My son and his friend run an after-school football coaching session at a primary school in another area of Lancashire and its popularity emphasises the fact that it may not only be the children's reluctance to partake in physical activity but the lack of accessible, free or reasonably priced and supervised activities that prevents children from enjoying sport.

This area needs a co-operative review from all interested parties, including health professionals, to improve and update sporting and leisure facilities so that there is some parity across the board.

This is the only way the problems of obesity and poor health will truly be tackled.

Concerned mother, Cornwall Road, Rishton.