IT'S no wonder that this country has such a dearth of tennis talent if other local councils have a pricing policy similar to Warrington's.

This week I contacted Birchwood Tennis Centre with the intention of booking an indoor court. There was a court available, but the receptionist informed me that they had now moved on to their winter prices of £13.80 an hour.

For a council-run faciliy, this is an absolute scandal.

Expecting a three-set match to last something like 90 minutes, this would mean having to pay £20.70 for the privilege - and how many of us can afford that?

I would have expected Warrington Borough Council to offer facilities which are easily affordable for the majority of its taxpayers - not ones which are so outrageously priced that they encourage elitism.

It's not as if there are plenty of options to play elsewhere on municipal facilities. There used to be quite a few tennis courts scattered around Warrington, but nowadays there are hardly any. One rather uneven concrete court at Orford Park is all I can think of.

At a time when British tennis is on a relative high, with Tim Henman in the world's top 10, how many potential stars are being denied the chance to play the sport simply because they can't afford it?

It's time that the borough council played fair and dropped this winter price increase. Until then, my advice to other tennis fans is to keep your money in your pocket and boycott the council's facilities.

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