Cricket club denied funding because of political correctness...

You can't get a grant unless you have enough so-called 'visible minorities'.

A VILLAGE cricket club believes it has been refused a Sport England grant because it doesn’t have any ethnic minority, disadvantaged or disabled members.

Threlkeld Cricket Club is famous for its pocket handkerchief ground alongside the busy A66 road on the outskirts of the village between Penrith and Keswick.

The club, which did receive a £180,000 Sport England grant three years ago towards the £230,000 cost of a new pavilion after the old one blew down in a storm, caters for dozens of children, including girls, as well as putting out several adult teams in the local cricket leagues.

It needs to raise £47,000 after being given a piece of land by neighbouring farmer George Hutton. This will necessitate a lot of ground levelling and the building of a new batting square further away from the road.

Sport England say the main reasons for not supporting a second application relate to a lack of partnership funding and multi-sport approach, and the limited impact on widening participation among ‘priority groups’.

These include women and girls, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and those from poor backgrounds.

Club spokesman John Knowles said he interpreted priority groups as meaning ethnic minorities and said Threlkeld was disadvantaged because where it was situated obviously counted against it.

He said: “It smacks of political correctness. The world has gone mad.

“We are effectively being discriminated against.