Dozens of children packed into a village hall to stand up for their beloved football club, which has been rocked by controversial changes imposed by the parish council.

Kings Hill FC has been training at the Sports Park on Beacon Avenue since the club was established in 2013 and has enjoyed priority booking for its 500 players as well as a 10% discount.

KMTV report on the row

However, families who pay toward the facility in their parish council precept have been up in arms after finding out the club has now lost its Wednesday night booking to an out-of-town club.

National League South outfit Ebbsfleet United used to train at the sports park, but since they left in 2018, the parish council has struggled to find new ways of raising money from the grounds.

The row has escalated in recent weeks with locals accusing the authority of nepotism by allowing another club to use the facility for training, while also using some weekend pitches.

However, the council hit back last week to defend its actions and insists it has been the victim of bullying, while also trying to work with the club to ensure all its teams have a training slot, albeit on different evenings.

A meeting at the village hall on Wednesday was attended by an estimated 300 people, including many of KHFC's young players, but parents and other club supporters claim their concerns were not met with answers.

Coach Andrew Boxer said: "I'm pretty gutted, I spent three-and-a-half years as a volunteer getting kids playing, and that's going to end due to decisions being made by the parish council."

Tonbridge and Malling MP Tom Tugendhat has also expressed frustration, saying: "These are fantastic young people and I am absolutely convinced one of them is going to captain England men or women to World Cup glory."

"I find the way it has been treated very odd, it's certainly the first time I've ever heard a parish council say it's going to set up it's own football team when they already have a fantastic one in place."

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