Bowling club's unexpected member

From the archive, first published Friday 20th Apr 2007.

VANDALS have drawn a 65ft penis in weed killer on a town centre bowling green.

The etching stretches out across the expanse of manicured grass at Knutsford Conservative Club.

Knutsford Conservative A bowling team had hoped to begin their league season against Swettenham C next Wednesday.

Now it is unclear whether the fixture will be able to go ahead.

"It will depend upon the extent of the damage," said Knutsford Bowling League secretary Nick Hough, who was unaware of the incident.

"It might be possible to bowl around it."

Yesterday the Conservative Club were keen to play down the issue, claiming bowling had gone ahead as normal, and the grass was growing back.

"The committee has discussed it and had a laugh about it. That's the way we see it," said a spokesman who did not want to be named.

"It has been examined and dealt with." He said publicity could lead to further damage if a copycat vandal was targeting bowling greens. For it is the second attack on a bowling green in less than two months.

In February a driver performed handbrake turns on the green at Goostrey Bowling Club.

Yesterday when the Guardian visited the Conservative Club no one wanted to discuss the matter.

And in the Lord Eldon drinkers could not - or would not - say they had heard anything about the incident.

But staff in the White Bear said there had been lots of talk over the bar. "I don't know whether they used bleach or weed killer," said one who did not want to be named.

In Goostrey a motorist breached a wall before ploughing up the green and a neighbouring football pitch.

The playing surface was expected to take three months and thousands of pounds to repair.

But then the Freemasons stepped in to allow the club to play at the Leicester-Warren Masonic Hall in Knutsford until the green was playable again.

Mr Hough said the vandal should have found something better to do with his time.

"It is probably just some mindless fool," he said.

adam.morson@guardiangrp.co.uk