Clive Wolfendale said the pitches were in a 'disgraceful condition'

In his blog on the North Wales Police website, Clive Wolfendale said rubbish was a "real eyesore" on football fields in Buckley, Flintshire.

He also criticised parents and match supervisors for not cleaning them up.

Buckley Town under-17s manager Russell Moore said teams regularly cleaned up rubbish they were not responsible for.

Mr Wolfendale said he had come across pitch-side "anti-social behaviour" on football fields near the high school while patrolling in Buckley.

May I suggest instead of slagging off local community groups, why not come down and give the 50 or so volunteers and over 300 playing youngsters in Buckley your support Russell Moore, Buckley Town under-17s manager

"It looked like every participant in the previous weekend's fixtures had left a personal memento in the form a drink bottle and crisp packet," he wrote on Thursday, 18 October.

"Now, when Wayne Rooney tosses his Lucozade container to the touchline [when playing for England], Ray Clemence dutifully rushes out to collect it.

"Parents and match supervisors in Buckley (and I dare say in many other places) seem to have missed Ray's fine example."

But writing on BBC Wales' Clwyd Junior League mini-site, Mr Moore said local teams regularly cleared up rubbish which had nothing to do with them.

"A typical morning for a manager of a local junior football team in Buckley will start two hours before k/o (kick-off) when the pitches require clearing of dog excrement."

'Disgraceful condition'

"On this weekend the same applied," he went on.

"We cleared up two dozen beer bottles and a large number of cans and crisp packets were removed from the playing surface.

"May I suggest instead of slagging off local community groups why not come down and give the 50 or so volunteers and over 300 playing youngsters in Buckley your support?"

But Mr Wolfendale responded to Mr Moore's post by saying: "The fact of the matter is that the pitches were in a disgraceful condition.

"This was touchline debris, not simply litter.