Parents face £100 fine if children play football in the street

And the footballing youngsters of Utah Close, a small suburban cul de sac of 15 homes, are no exception.

Now, however, their simple pleasure has been outlawed by the local council which said their games of street soccer 'posed a danger' to the public.

The children can no longer put temporary goalposts in the street, and have even been told "jumpers for goalposts" must be "removed from the road immediately" because they are classed as obstructions.

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The heartbroken children have also been ordered to remove any toys from the street, including dolls and bikes, because they too are a "hazard".

In a letter to the residents of the street in the Glenfield area of Leicester, county council officials warned parents that they face a £100 fine if their sons and daughters flout the ban.

The authority says its tough stance is backed by Section 161 of the Highways Act 1980 which states: "Any person depositing anything on the highway or playing football on the highway is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine."

The ban has been imposed even though no one who lives in the street complained about the children playing.

Instead, passing motorists, drivers using the cul de sac to turn around in and residents of neighbouring streets are thought to be the source of the complaints.

Yesterday, residents said the youngsters were being robbed of their childhood and called the ban an example of the nanny state gone mad.

Sales manager Ian Fenton, 42, who has three sons, aged six, seven and 12, said: "They are treating our children and us as if we are criminals.

"We want our children playing where we can see them. We moved here so that there was a nice, safe environment for them to play in, where they could interact with other children their own age.

"Playing in the street is something that has gone on for generations in this country. Now the council want to take it away. It's ludicrous."

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Mr Fenton's six-year-old son Morgan said: "Football is my favourite game. I wanted to play outside with my brothers, but we're not allowed to put our jumpers down. I have to stay indoors instead. It's very unfair."

Tim Cory, 39, who has two sons aged seven and nine, said: "I don't know where the boys are going to go now. If they play on the road in front of the houses they are safe and we all know where they are."

Diane Elliot, 36, whose nine-yearold son has autism, said: "I like to be able to keep an eye on him at all times. I don't let him play out without me watching. I don't want him to go to the park because I don't know if he will get on with the other children."

A county council spokesman said: "The parish council has been contacted several times in recent years about children setting up goalposts that were blocking the road.

"It is rare to issue such warnings, and they would be considered only in a case where a persistent problem has been reported by other residents."

The spokesman said the children were "potentially compromising the safety of highway users and causing a nuisance to other residents".

But Mr Fenton said: "The children use the goalposts specifically so the ball is not going on to the main road. They are clearly not a danger, they are just a frustration to some impatient individuals."