Footballers plan rabbit defence

The rabbits have been attracted by the freshly laid pitch

A football team in south Wales are facing their toughest opponents yet - rabbits.

The laws of nature rather than the laws of the game have been conspiring against Llanharan AFC, who first had to deal with moles on their pitch.

Humane traps dealt with 14 moles at the town's recreation ground last season but now a colony of rabbits has moved in, attracted by the relaid pitch.

The groundstaff are planning their defensive tactics - a steel fence.

Gill Richards, who is the secretary of Llanharan Recreation Ground Trust explained that rabbits have always been near the field because it is close to a railway embankment where wild berries grow.

"But we've also just had the football pitch relaid so there is lots of lush grass there at the moment and they are coming across to eat it," she explained.

Players have to fill in holes dug by the rabbits before they can play

"They aren't making big burrows on the pitch but what they are doing is creating divots on the field.

"It means that when the footballers want to play they have to inspect the pitch and fill them in with earth.

"The rabbits are cheeky little devils."

The club have been concerned that the holes dug by the rabbits could cause serious injury to their players and hope that a steel fence being erected to keep out the pests will help.

The footballers have already had to deal with the moles, whose holes left mounds of earth on the pitch.

'Burrowing under'

A specialist trapper moved 14 off the ground.

"Last year it was moles and now it is rabbits," said Ms Richards.

"I hope they've all gone now - we managed to eradicate them.

"But then the rabbits moved in."

The field is used most weekends by football and rugby teams as well as other sporting organisations like archery groups.

"We are planning to put up a galvanised steel fence along the perimeter of the ground to try and stop the rabbits," said Ms Richards.

"It's going to be buried under the ground as well to try and stop them from burrowing under.

"I just hope it's going to work - we can but try but nature is very hard to control," she added.