RANK Outsiders will have to play their remaining games away from their Steam Mills home after a pitch invasion by feral wild boar.

Ranks, who run two senior sides in the North Gloucestershire League, saw their ground churned up by the woodland animals last week.

The field is also used by Steam Mills Primary School and Cinderford Town had hoped to use it as a home for some of their youth teams next season.

The luckless club take care of the pitch upkeep and pay for the electricity at their home, which is under Cinderford Town Council’s trusteeship.

Earlier this season, Ranks’ first team kit was stolen from the garage of the club’s manager, while the clubhouse was stripped of copper by thieves in 2010.

Secretary Rich Bennett said the boar had gotten into the ground via holes in perimeter fencing and was frustrated by the club’s latest setback, which could see them have to play away from Steam Mills next season as well.

“The damage is awful to be honest,” he said.

“The boar have decimated the pitch. They came in last week and the town council found a gap in a fence.

“But they found another route in and have been in every night four nights on the trot.

“The council have been great but we don’t know how much it’s going to cost to repair the pitch.

“Ian Pritchard and Mowtech look after the pitch and he’s going to look at it and come back to us.

“All we can really do is roll it flat, put on top soil and re-seed it. But we don’t know how long that will take and I have my doubts it’ll be playable next season.”

Ranks’ first team and reserves have two home fixtures each left this season and Bennett has made enquiries to find a venue for the four matches.

“I’ve approached the people in charge of Soudley’s ground by the community centre,” he explained.

“I’ve been told there’s no objection in principal but we’re waiting on confirmation. If our ground isn’t playable next year we’ll have to explore our options.

“We can’t apply for grants to fix the ground because we don’t actually pay rent and therefore aren’t tenants. If we could do that, it’d probably be sorted.

“It’s one thing after another though and it’s hard enough running a football club. We’ve spent over £2,000 on the pitch over the last couple of years and now that’s been wasted.”