ANGRY residents have vowed to fight County Hall’s plans to sell off popular school playing fields in Wareham.

The fields, at Wareham Middle School, are regularly used by the town’s junior football team and Wareham Cricket Club.

Club insiders warn if the sale goes ahead, it will spell disaster for grass roots sport in the town.

Cricket club chairman Bob Huskinson said if the players have to move to the nearby Recreation Ground, pitch fees would raise club costs by a staggering 430 per cent.

“We cannot afford to lose this land if children in and out of school are to receive the exercise and sporting opportunities they need.”

And local resident Miriam Fagan, a member of the Save Wareham Playing Fields group, said: “The disposal of these fields would result in displacing these children’s teams when no additional pitches are available for them to move onto.

“This comes at a time when the expansion of Purbeck School to an 11-18 year-old full secondary school, under the new two-tier system, will place additional strain on the pitches at the sports centre.”

The middle school playing fields, at Worgret Road, are regularly used by Purbeck School students. The county council insists part of the fields will be handed to Lady St Mary first school, but this represents a fraction of the overall land.

Under the county’s £35m education shake-up, Wareham Middle School – and middle schools in Swanage, Bovington and Sandford – will close in 2013.

Mrs Fagan said: “This proposed disposal by DCC comes at a time when the Queen Elizabeth Challenge to retain school playing fields is being actively supported by Prince William and the government, not least because of the need to tackle to growing obesity problem amongst school children.”

Residents believe the land will be sold off for housing or a large-scale supermarket site, but local planning authority, Purbeck District Council, is vehemently opposed to any out-of-town supermarket site within the district.