Josh Corder: Sheffield man uses own lawnmower to cut football field so that local kids can play

Josh Corder, aged 21, from Skye Edge Avenue, who works in ground maintenance as his day job, has been spending his spare time after work cutting the local football field near to where he lives.

He said he was fed up with it becoming too overgrown between council cuts, preventing children from playing football there.So he has taken it upon himself to keep it nice and short for the local kids.

Josh said: “I saw the kids trying to play football and they were really struggling to actually play, so I thought, why don’t I cut it? And I did.

“The kids have been loving playing on it, and I’ve seen so many more kids enjoying and playing on the field than before.”

Local residents have praised Josh for his efforts and community spirit and came to The Star to give him some recognition and thanks.

Josh said: “I let down by the council that they won’t cut it, or that they leave it to get crazy long then cut it.

“It is still too long even when they are done and the kids still can't play on it.

“I just don’t understand that they want kids to go out and play, but they have nowhere to go, not even a patch of grass that wouldn’t take the council more than a day to cut properly for the kids to actually be able to play football.”

Councillor Richard Williams, Chair of the council's Communities, Parks and Leisure Committee, said: “To improve the park for the local community, extensive work has been undertaken on Skye Edge Playing Fields. During this time access to the site was restricted, however since contractors left the sit in early May, the grass has been cut twice, with another planned before the end of June.

“The wet spring followed by a warm spell has led to the grass growing quickly at parks across the city. With site improvements complete at Skye Edge and regular maintenance scheduled, we hope the community can continue to enjoy this brilliant place to exercise, play and relax.”