A bid for help by a group which holds football matches is to go into extra time before a decision is made.

Little Clacton Recreational Trust has been unable to stage football matches at Plough Corner since October due to bad weather.

It asked the parish council for help, although the trust is still to pay back a £500 loan the council handed over last year.

At its parish council meeting it was decided to pass the matter over to its finance committee and to find out more details about the request.

Bill Ford said part of the problem was because vandals had unscrewed a wastepipe for a water tank which served portable toilets.

The consequent leak had gone unnoticed for some time and landed the trust with a bill for £880.

Mr Ford said up until last weekend it had been impossible to play matches on the pitches.

He added he had been asked at short notice to see if the council would lend the trust more money as bills were still mounting up.

Car boot sales will begin at the site soon which should ease the trust's predicament, the meeting heard.

Mr Ford said the trust was looking at a loan of up to £1,000 to tide it over.

Football has earned the trust £466 so far this year, compared with £1,285 for the same period last year.

The meeting heard there was now about £480 in the trust's bank account, but it was not clear if that money would be enough to pay any outstanding debts, including the water bill.

Chairman Jeff Couzens said figures showed that although there had been little football in the past few months, there was still £1,364 in labour costs.

He added: "We would probably be disposed to support the trust, but we want to know if there is an income potential to pay back the £500 we have lent and the £1,000 we may lend.

"We just can't keep lending money."

Mr Couzens said he did not want to criticise the management of the trust but added that the water bill should not have been kept from October.

"It isn't going to go away," he added.

The £500 loan last year was to help with drainage so a five-a-side tournament could be staged.

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