Football club gives chemicals the boot

Long-suffering football fans who complain they pay good money to watch a load a cowplop will soon be speaking literally. English team Forest Green Rovers has ditched the chemical fertilisers and taken to spreading cow manure as it bids to make its pitch certified organic.

Rovers, who play in the fifth tier of English football, have a chairman who also runs a green electricity company. As part of an eco makeover, red meat has been taken off the stadium menu and there are plans for a solar panels and recycled rainwater, the BBC reports.

The club hopes to certify the pitch with the Soil Association. In the meantime, team coach Dave Hockaday says the smell is “a little bit lively, but the pitch is looking magnificent”.

Before you know it, even golf courses will be going organic.

Photo: SIMON WEBSTER