Cricketers bowled over by volunteers

HEYSIDE Cricket Club has received a gardening revamp courtesy of the Prince’s Trust.

A team of around 15 volunteers — aged 15-25 — picked up their spades and paintbrushes to help out their local community.

The club was in desperate need of some weeding and paintwork to the areas surrounding the pitch but did not have the strength in numbers.

Volunteers saw this as an opportunity to dig deep and tackle their first community project.

Team leader Adeel Abbas praised the volunteers, saying: “A project this size requires a lot of hard work and motivation and they have been fantastic.”

The team also painted the white walls surrounding the club and restored picnic areas. Heyside Cricket Club chairman Joe Warburton said: “It’s going to be a better environment for people when they visit the cricket club. A lot of people have already mentioned how well it looks.”

“It’s been great to see how motivated the volunteers are and how they want to work for the community — it’s really refreshing.”

Members of the Princes Trust team are on a thirteen-week course, run by Groundwork, which provides them with work experience, support for finding a job, qualifications and an opportunity to help out in their community.

Team member Christina Gould (25) said the course had helped her come out of her shell.