Beccles Town Football Club’s dream of building a state-of-the art 3G all-weather pitch is set to become a reality.

The club has raised £770,000 for the ambitious new facility since the project was announced in May last year - with work expected to begin within the next month.

Chairman David Leech said: “Everything is now in place funding and planning wise, it is definitely going to happen.

“We have known for the past few weeks this would be coming but have just been waiting on the confirmation.”

He added: “This just shows that the work we do as a football club is the right work.”

The full-sized 3G pitch will be built at The Nest, just off Common Lane South.

The club managed to raise the momentous sum in such a relatively short period due an outpouring of community support, grants and the backing of local business grants.

Mr Leech said: “There have been times when I thought this would just be a dream and take years.

“This shows the kind of community spirit Beccles has as a town – this is not just about the football club.”

The club’s goal is to create an all-weather pitch to maximise the amount of time aspiring footballers can practice and train, with the pitch also available for wider community use.

3G pitches reduce the risk of pitches becoming waterlogged by replacing natural grass with synthetic fibres – this in turn lowers the chances of athletes slipping and injuring themselves.

In total 34 teams play under the Beccles Town banner – from adult teams to under-7s. And Mr Leech is keen for the town as a whole to benefit from the new facility.

He said: “The pitch will provide the football club with the ability to allow kids to train and play all year round.

“None of the local schools have a pitch like this and have to travel to Lowestoft to play; they will now be able to run their own tournaments in Beccles.”

The chairman praised the dedication of vice-chairman Mark Jermey and the team who worked on the project.

He said: “He has put in a tremendous amount of hours. It’s down to people like that who make this happen.”

The pitch will take between 14 and 16 weeks to build and should be open by next year.