ALL football games on council-run pitches in part of Suffolk have been cancelled for the foreseeable future because of the lack of rain, it has been announced.

ALL football games on council-run pitches in part of Suffolk have been cancelled for the foreseeable future because of the lack of rain, it has been announced.

Waveney District Council and operational partners Waveney Norse made the decision after discussions with league secretaries and clubs.

It has been agreed that the unusually hard surfaces present a genuine risk to player safety, as well as longer-term damage to the pitches themselves.

Following similar decisions in Norwich and Great Yarmouth, Waveney Operations Manager Andy Wilson-Sutter said that the Council had been left with no option.

He added: “The surfaces are bare and bone hard and there is no question of games going ahead with conditions as they are. Player safety is a number one priority and just as matches are called off when pitches are frozen, we have little choice but to postpone all games for the time being.

“Naturally we are frustrated that we have been forced in to this decision and obviously we will work closely with the leagues to ensure any backlog of games are accommodated before the end of the season.”