FOOTBALL bosses across the city are celebrating today after hearing that no soccer pitches will be axed in April's budget.

The council had planned to mothball five pitches at the Riverside Ground in Bitterne Park and at the Veracity ground in Sholing to make a saving of £58,000 a year.

Faced with playing on over-used grounds and having to kick around outside the city boundary, thousands of amateur footballers signed an Echo-backed Southampton Football Association petition to protest against the proposal.

The move led to city leisure boss councillor Peter Wakeford being labelled as "Scrooge".

But the Daily Echo can exclusively reveal that the council has dropped the idea from its final budget, which is set to go before full council next month.

Richard Ember, who campaigned tirelessly to get the council to drop the proposal, was relieved.

Mr Ember, who is the secretary of the Orchard Homes Sunday football league, said: "Just like the Christmas story, Scrooge came good in the end.

"Cllr Wakeford came to a meeting about two weeks ago and listened very carefully to the development plans that football has and he has obviously reacted to that meeting.

"We have never had that kind of opportunity from a council leader before and we would like to continue that. It was a very positive meeting and has had a very positive outcome."

Stuart Gemmell, the secretary of the SFA, described the council move as a "massive relief".

He said: "It is thanks to everyone who has worked extremely hard and thank you to the councillor for seeing reason."

Meanwhile Ray Agius, the secretary of the Southampton Commercial Houses League, whose 45 teams use council-run pitches nearly all the time, thanked the Echo and the SFA.

He said: "It's good news for everyone. The response was obviously not what the council expected. People do care about football pitches.

"I'm quite taken aback. I thought we might lose one pitch but to lose none is brilliant."

Southampton Test Labour MP Alan Whitehead said: "If they have been saved it's excellent news.

"I think the way that thousands of footballers and people interested in football across the city joined together and said how important football pitches were to the whole basis of the game at grass roots level impressed both me and the council. Obviously the council have now retreated in the face of their united voice.

"It's important that football has the facilities it needs in Southampton, and hopefully this decision will go some way to ensuring there are."

Southampton Itchen Labour MP, John Denham, said: "It was a daft idea in the first place and I think if the council had sat down and talked things through with people, they could have avoided all of this.

"It is a victory for common sense, and the hard work that both the clubs and players have done in opposition to the idea has now paid off.

"What we need now is a positive commitment from the council that instead of cutting back on sports, they will expand and improve it across the city."