Hundreds of Kirkcaldy amateur footballers have been left kicking their heels after being told that the town’s busiest pitches are out of action.
Players could be left on the sidelines for months after floodlights at Kirkcaldy High School’s all-weather pitches were damaged by Storm Henry.
Play has been suspended for more than a week, with junior teams also affected by the sudden closure.
It comes just over a year after a new state-of-the-art artificial surface was.
However, it is understood that this may need to be torn up to allow for repairs to the lighting to take place.
Danny Lambert, who plays at the school every week with friends, said the latest closure is hugely frustrating.
“I’m stunned that we can’t use the pitches again,” he told The Courier.
“We’ve only been back here for a year and when they were putting the new surface down it took a lot longer than they originally said.
“We play here every week and pay good money to do so. Usually everything is in good condition but now we might have to wait for months just for a floodlight to be repaired.
“We’ll have to go to Glenrothes if we want a game of football and that’s ridiculous.”
Mr Lambert first heard of the fault just hours before he was scheduled to play at the school’s community use pitches last week.
Initially believing the floodlight issue to be a one-off, news that the closure could persist has angered the supermarket worker, who said a huge number of players will be affected.
He added: “It’s bad enough for us but there’s junior teams that train here occasionally and I have no idea where they’ll go.”
Sarah Roxburgh, head of community use facilities at Fife Council, said: “Significant damage was caused to the lighting at the Kirkcaldy High School Astroturf pitches in the recent storms.
“We are currently still assessing the extent of the damage and what repairs will be necessary. We are unable to say at this moment how long the pitch will remain closed.
“I’d like to apologise to all our customers for this inconvenience but safety is our number one priority.”