Pub footballers fear they will not be able to play at home for months - after travellers drove over their pitches to set up camp.
Up to eight vans towing caravans first drove across the playing fields, off Chell Heath Road, Chell Heath, on Thursday afternoon and did not go until late yesterday.
It comes after Stoke-on-Trent City Council went to North Staffordshire Justice Centre yesterday to obtain a court order to try to kick the gypsies off the land.
The pitches are used by the nearby Knave of Clubs pub which plays in the Potteries & District Sunday League (PDSL). It had to rearrange its weekend fixture and may have to play away for a number of weeks due to the damage caused to the pitches.
Landlord Roy Spilsbury said: "We have two sides here and we might not be able to use the pitches for a few months because of the damage.
"We should have been at home on Sunday but we played away. This will end up costing me a lot of income because we usually have a full bar on a Sunday with both teams. Luckily the lads are loyal and even though they have had to play away they will still come back here.
"The pitches are now just unplayable. I pay to rent those pitches for our teams to use and they have been ruined. We have used them for about 27 years.
"We feel they should have been moved sooner."
Families are demanding to know why the council took so long to remove the travellers.
Chell Heath Residents' Association chairman Jim Gibson said: "They arrived last Thursday teatime and there were about eight vans. They churned all the pitches up.
"Within half-an-hour of finding out they were there I had contacted the authorities. It's the mess and the damage that has upset people. People just wanted to see them gone."
The council has defended its actions.
A spokesman said: “We obtained a court order to remove the group on Monday morning. This was the earliest that we could obtain the order, having been made aware of the situation and served the necessary documentation on Friday.
“We appreciate and understand the inconvenience and the frustration felt by many residents and businesses due to unlawful occupation by travellers in the city. We have a robust procedure in place for such circumstances and act swiftly to take the necessary steps to remove any unlawful occupation.”
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