Young rugby league players are battling to reclaim their ground from joyriders who have adopted it as a dumping ground for stolen cars.

The Holme Wood Raiders have been unable to play on their pitch since November, after joyriders deliberately smashed into the goal posts - for the fourth time this year.

The pitch, at Pitt Hill, Holme Lane, is rutted with the tyre tracks of stolen cars and black scorch marks show where the dumped vehicles have been abandoned and burnt out.

The Raiders' secretary, Michael Lambert, said: "When they drove into the posts the last time, the Council refused to replace them again."

Mr Lambert, who coaches the under-11 side, said it cost the authority £500 to replace each set of posts, adding that it collected £180 each year from the club in rent.

"It is not just the posts," said Mr Lambert. "We have had members of the committee down here at all times replacing turf which had been scorched by burning cars."

He said the club had asked the Council to install a fence around the pitch but it refused, saying it could not stretch to the £6,000 bill.

"They said we'll have to look for somewhere else but the team is from Holme Wood and this is where we want to stay," he added.

"We have tried to make the team something to be proud of and I think we have achieved that. We launched the club four years ago and a lot of hard work has gone into building it up."

He said there were around 40 players, split between the under 11 and under-15 sides.

"They already have a backlog of 12 home games - they are going to have to play all year round to catch up."

"They are good sides and there is a great atmosphere among them. They have had a real positive impact on the area and it would be a tragedy to lose them."

The youngsters were even donating £1 each a week to the "fence fund" but Lambert said: "At that rate, we have a very long way to go."

He appealed for local businesses to help out.

A Bradford Council recreation service spokesman confirmed the posts had been smashed four times this year, adding: "The only spare posts we have are the ones previously broken which cannot be repaired."

He added: "We have put in an order for some new stronger posts and, in the meantime, we have asked the Raiders for their fixture list in order to try to relocate them to another ground until the posts are ready."

Anyone who can help the club should contact Mr Lambert on (01274) 689154.