Death prompts goalpost inquiry

THE SAFETY of goalposts in children's football is to be inves- tigated, the British Standards Institution said yesterday.

The inquiry is in response to the comments of a coroner at the inquest on a seven-year-old boy killed by a falling crossbar in Yorkshire four months ago. He was the ninth child to be killed in an incident involving goalposts in Britain in 10 years. David Woolliscroft, the institution's general manager of standards development, said: "The committee conducting the inquiry will be looking at design, impact testing, strength, stability and safety warnings."

John McDermott, national football development officer at the Football Association, said: "We are determined to ensure the highest possible level of safety for grassroots football."

The coroner at the inquest into the death of Jack Sheerin in West Yorkshire appealed for new standards. The boy's skull was fractured by a falling steel-tubed crossbar at Thornhill Football Club in Dewsbury. The inquest was told that children had swung from the bar.