GREAT HARWOOD Cricket club are set for a round of furious fund-raising after being landed with a £7,500 bill for drainage work at their Cliffe Park ground.

The Jennings Ribblesdale League club have had problems for years with drainage on the top half of the ground and in the last two months the severe weather has led to the total collapse of drains at the bottom of the ground leading to masses of water standing at the Westcliffe end.

In the past six weeks, some games have only been given the go-ahead after thousands of gallons of water - up to 10,000 gallons for one game - were pumped off the pitch.

The club has been forced to hire pumping equipment and bucket chains to clear the ground and rope off around 20 per cent of the playing area.

More than 600 metres of new drains will be installed this winter, starting immediately after the end of the season on September 9, at a cost of £6,000 to £7,500.

The club hope the ground will have recovered by the time the new season starts next summer.

The club will be organising major fund raising events to pay for the work, which cannot be delayed.

They have explored numerous avenues of grant assistance but have found they either do not fund work of this type of work or the urgency of the work does not fit into the lengthy application and decision-making timescale.

Club chiefs have made applications to the Lancashire Cricket Board and the Great Harwood Area Council and hope funds can be made available to the club where both cricket and bowls are played.

The club also supports community, youth and charitable initiatives through free or subsidised use of the club's facilities.