A “VITAL” all-weather sports facility has become too dangerous to play on, leaving sports teams across the Llyn Peninsula bereft of a crucial community asset, an MP has warned.

Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Liz Saville Roberts is backing calls to help raise nearly a quarter of a million pounds to upgrade the all-weather sports pitch at Parc Bodegroes, Efailnewydd which has become barely usable in recent years.

The all-weather pitch, which was constructed over 20 years ago, has been unfit for purpose for the past two seasons, with problems including recurring waterlogging, surface water, extensive moss growth and broken floodlights.

The estimated cost of replacing the pitch and replacing the floodlights is around £240,000.

This has forced local sports teams, including the Pwllheli Women and Youth Hockey Club, to travel further afield to access similar facilities, leaving the club at “breaking point”.

Concerns are being expressed as to the sustainability of this arrangement, with many voicing fears the situation will put off young people and women in particular from taking part in sports.

Mrs Saville Roberts said: “It’s vital that Pwllheli Hockey Club, with an active and burgeoning youth section, is able to continue to provide young people in Pen Llyn with the means to develop their sports skills in a safe and sustainable environment.

“Raising a quarter of a million pounds is very challenging for a small club which relies on volunteers to survive.

“Through community fund-raising and grant funding they have admirably raised £17,000, but this is a drop in the ocean.

“If a long-term solution isn’t forthcoming, there is a real risk that Llyn will be without an all-weather pitch for the foreseeable future as the club will not be able to play or practise on the home ground during winter evenings without floodlit facilities.

“This is bad news for local sport and a barrier to developing young people’s interest in such activities.”

Read the full story in this week’s Arfon/Dwyfor edition of the Cambrian News