ANGLESEY Council will make a major investment in its leisure services with the introduction of the Island’s first full size 3G football pitch.

The new pitch, costing £200,000, will be located next to Plas Arthur Leisure Centre in Llangefni, replacing the all-weather pitch currently situated there and making use of the floodlights.

The Wales Collaborative Sports Facilities Group – which includes the Football Association of Wales - has also pledged financial support towards the project.

Leisure commercial manager Gerallt Roberts said: “The new 3G facility will allow local clubs and schools to have access to a high quality sports area all-year round, regardless of the weather.

“We understand that there has been frustration at the lack of 3G pitch on the island, and we thank clubs, groups and individuals who have continued to use our facilities during this time.”

All-weather 3G pitches do not deteriorate during periods of bad weather, therefore enabling clubs to continue training when during the cold winter months.

The 3G surface should also help ease problems with fixture schedules by reducing the number of postponed matches - a constant issue for clubs all over the island earlier this year.

Gwynedd League side Bro Goronwy's assistant manager Alan Gray hailed the announcement as "great news" for Anglesey.

"It’s about time we got a 3G pitch on the island," he added.

"I just hope the rates to use it are affordable for local teams to train and play games on.

"Hopefully, this will also ease the backlog of games there is at the end of the season where games are postponed due to waterlogged pitches and clubs can end up playing up to four games a week."

Clubs and groups can now visit Plas Arthur, to fill out an expression of interest form to book their training slot from October onwards.