A father was fuming when he turned up with his son for a weekly football session to find glass shattered across a pitch.

Stephen Edwards arrived at Watford Leisure Centre Woodside last Saturday morning with his eight-year-old boy, and dozens of other young footballers.

But as they reached the pitches, Mr Edwards noticed glass scattered across a paid for artificial pitch just as all the children, mostly aged five, ran on to the pitch.

There were segments of glass across the side of the pitch with some scattered in the lines as well.

Mr Edwards said: “It is not what you expect when you turn up for a training session. It’s disgraceful. These pitches are supposed to be checked. The kids’ safety has not come first here.

“They could have been severely hurt if they had slipped into the glass.”

Fortunately no one was hurt.

Watford Observer:

When he raised concerns at the weekend about the glass with staff at Woodside, the father, who lives in Abbots Langley, said he was “not satisfied” with the response to his complaint, claiming he was told they were “too busy” to deal with it.

It is unconfirmed how and where the glass came to be there, however Mr Edwards believes it may have been from a vehicle and said he saw tyre tracks on the grass verge by the pitch.

He added: “The centre has a due care to put people’s safety first.”

Watford Observer:

Woodside councillor Stephen Cavinder said: "I was very concerned to hear that parents and users of Woodside Leisure Centre found glass and other rubbish. Parents are rightly concerned at the potential consequences of this.

"As soon as I was made aware, I raised this with senior officers at Watford Borough Council and the centre. I fully expect measures to be put in place to ensure that there is no repeat of this situation."

Watford Leisure Centre Woodside says its pitches are inspected before opening.

Gary Foley, Everyone Active’s contract manager, said: “Customer safety is our number one priority. Our pitches are currently inspected before opening and at scheduled times throughout the day. We will be carrying out a full investigation into the glass on the outdoor pitches on Saturday.

“We have met with the customer involved to apologise for the incident and to reassure them of our company safety procedures.”