HOCKEY: Supermarket donation helps Horncastle club to get new pitch work underway

After years of hard work fundraising, work is finally underway to replace the existing all-weather pitch, which was worn out after 25 years’ service, with a modern Astroturf surface.

Ben Manual, store manager at the Watermill Road Tesco store joined Horncastle Hockey vice-chairman David Seymour at the Coronation Walk ground and presented the donation.

Ben said: “We are delighted to be able to support Horncastle Hockey Club’s ‘Pitch in’ fundraising campaign, alongside other local businesses. Our local community is incredibly important to us and as a store team, we are committed to supporting the area we serve.

“The whole community will benefit from the new Astroturf pitch with children from the two local schools using the new pitch in addition to the hockey club.”

David Seymour said: “We would like to thank Tesco for their generous donation. The project had been in doubt for some months due to lack of funding, despite securing finance from Sports England, England Hockey, The National Hockey Foundation and ELDC.

“Without the local support from Horncastle’s two schools, Tesco and a range of other local organisations, we would not have reached our fundraising target.”