ELDERLY residents at a Huddersfield care home are unable to sun themselves outdoors – in case they are hit by flying cricket balls.
Residents at Aden View in Primrose Hill have given up sitting outside, because they are afraid of being hit by cricket balls going astray when matches are played at nearby Primrose Hill Cricket Club.
The care home is located at Perseverance Street, downhill from the cricket ground at Cross Lane.
Balls hit hard during matches have been flying down the hill and landing in the home’s grounds – in some cases damaging vehicles in the car park.
No residents have been injured, but worried relatives say it may only be a matter of time.
They are concerned that residents will be unable to enjoy the summer outdoors while matches are played at the ground.
Stella Firth, of Rochdale, visited her 90-year-old mother-in-law at Aden View last weekend. She said within an hour, several balls had landed in the grounds and residents went indoors to stay safe.
She said: “It’s nice for the residents to get fresh air outside, but the balls are a fatal accident waiting to happen. It is very dangerous, especially for older people.
“I understand it has been a problem for quite a while. Last year it was not so bad because the weather wasn’t as good, so there were less matches and less people outside.
“The home has asked people to sit at the back rather than the front, as it is safer, but even then some balls come over. It needs sorting out.”
Bruce Heath, of the cricket club, said he was aware of some incidents and had immediately contacted a scaffolding company to see if nets can be put up to prevent balls leaving the cricket ground.
He said: “It’s impossible to say whether nets will solve the problem. There haven’t been nets up for about 20 years but we have never had any damage or injuries.”
Matches currently had to be played on the lower pitch because the ground was too wet at the top of the field, but this might change as the season progresses.
