CAMPAIGNERS have won a battle to save vital football pitches in a Glasgow community.

CAMPAIGNERS have won a battle to save vital football pitches in a Glasgow community.

The pitches at North Kelvinside in the West End were listed as "surplus to requirements" by the city council in January last year.

Bosses stopped maintaining them and it looked likely the valuable land would be sold for housing.

But the move sparked fury among sports groups who insisted the council should be promoting more active lifestyles.

Now the blaes pitches on Queen Margaret Drive have been saved - and are in line for an upgrade - after the city's new culture and leisure trust decided not to sell them.

Campaigner Mark Adams, chairman of North Glasgow Football Development Group, said: "We are delighted they've been saved.

"It's a huge boost for the kids in the area as Maryhill is one of the most under-provided areas for sport facilities in the country, never mind the city.

"The pitches were at threat from development, because it's a valuable site. It would have had a massive impact on the area if they'd been sold."

Dad Thomas Smith's nine-year-old son Connor Morgan uses the pitches twice a week with youth team North Kelvin United.

He said: "It's great news for the community and the protesters have kept the kids involved all along the way with their campaign.

"There is very little for the kids in Maryhill and the pitches mean a lot more than football."

The proposed upgrade will see the grounds being replaced by a synthetic playing surface.

The cost of the move will be decided in the summer.

Culture and Leisure Glasgow also plans to upgrade and improve other sports facilities all over the city as part of the authority's bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Jim MacKechnie, the area's former councillor now running for re-election, said: "This pitch facility and upgrade will provide the opportunity for children, young people and adults in North West Glasgow to participate in sport in their own community and enjoy associated benefits."

Jamie Hamill, of North Kelvin Community Council, led the campaign to save the two pitches, claiming commercial development of the site was "not in the best interests of local people".