Barton Rovers buy pitch cover to beat the weather

Continual rain over the past eight weeks has resulted in six of their home matches being postponed, resulting in a fixture pile-up and loss of income.

Chairman Darren Whiley said: “It’s been a difficult time here in Barton with the wet conditions.

“We are in a poor location geographically and suffer from a high water table causing a lack of draining from the surface.

“The only way to stop the water just sitting on the sodden ground is to protect it with waterproof covers.

“We are unique here with our slight slope, which we have taken full advantage of and the water just runs off.

“It’s probably too late to gain any major advantage for this week’s games, but we firmly believe it could be a solution to a long-term problem.

“Time will tell, but for now we have water sitting on top of the covers and not on the grass.”

Rovers have also had good news in their quest to introduce a 3G training and mini soccer pitch at the club.

Whiley added: “Following meetings with Beds FA they now consider our project as a viable one.

“We will work together over the coming months to fund and build some new facilities for the club’s youth and senior teams.”