Young footballers who walk or cycle to their matches will be rewarded with stickers and a sticker book as part of a new scheme to cut traffic congestion.

Tackling Transport, an initiative from Smarter Travel Sutton, aims to cut congestion on the borough’s roads, particularly around the four Little League venues in Wallington, West Sutton, Sutton and Carshalton where more than 1,600 six to 14-year-olds play every Saturday and Sunday morning.

Across England an estimated 125,000 children play football every week with many travelling to and from playing fields by car.

Organisers say gentle exercise both before and after matches is also a great way for children to warm up, and warm down.

Under the scheme youngsters receive a sticker book and pick up a sticker every time they walk or cycle. They can then claim a sports-related prize for every six stickers collected.

Those who pick up 18 stickers during the 25-week season will be entered into a prize draw for tickets to the 2009 Community Shield match at Wembley Stadium, the traditional curtain-raiser for the Premier League season.

New cycle parking has also been installed at the four Little League venues; Beddington Park, Cheam Rec, Royston Park and St Helier Open Space.

Councillor Colin Hall, deputy leader of Sutton Council, said: “This excellent initiative promises a hat-trick of benefits – cutting congestion on our roads, improving safety around our pitches and promoting active lifestyles.

“Surveys show that the average child travels just 1.3 miles to play football which can be covered by bike in less than 10 minutes. Parents have also told us about the stress of finding parking spaces near our playing fields.

Ben Plowden, director of Smarter Travel at Transport for London (TfL) said: “The Tackling Transport initiative is a fun way of encouraging children and their parents to leave the family car at home and walk or cycle instead.”

Stewart Wood manages The Hurricanes team in the West Sutton Little League, in which his sons Charlie and Eddie play. He said: “I think it’s a great idea and I hope the scheme takes off. I used to drive the boys down every Saturday but I’ll be making a concerted effort to cut back this year.

“I know from experiencing that parking near the ground is really frustrating as there is traffic all over the place, so something needs to be done to cut congestion.”

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