PRECIOUS few villages in the West can boast a football team with the reputation Cleeve West Town enjoys and it is to their credit that they perform at such a lofty level of the local game.

PRECIOUS few villages in the West can boast a football team with the reputation Cleeve West Town enjoys and it is to their credit that they perform at such a lofty level of the local game.

Not only do they boast a first team playing in the Somerset County League top-flight, but every weekend they field successful second and third teams into action in Weston and District Divisions 1 and 3 respectively.

This proud North Somerset club evolved around the mid-1960s when Backwell's Third XI, struggling to find a pitch of their own to play on, began hosting their Bristol Regional League fixtures at Cleeve's King George V playing fields, having originally performed at the West Town section of Backwell village at Hillside Road.

History has it that the playing fields committee felt it appropriate to give the ground due recognition, given that it was now staging Backwell Thirds home games. And so the brand-new Cleeve West Town came into being.

Since the 1993-94 campaign, when Cleeve West were elevated from the Weston and District League, the club have enjoyed an upward spiral on the strength of a series of promotions, and in 2007-08 they finished an admirable fifth in the Somerset County Premier Division, their most successful season to date.

All of which has been aided and abetted by enthusiastic backing from a 10-strong committee and ardent helpers, from the people who mark out and maintain the playing surfaces to the ladies who make the players teas on a Saturday afternoon.

Now, with foundations firmly laid, Cleeve West Town are looking forward to a bright future and delighted chairman Mark Williams explained: "Getting the first team up to an even higher level is a long-term goal, although we're realistic and the main aim is to consolidate our position in the Somerset Premier Division and strengthen the position of our second and third teams.

"We have a buoyant set-up behind the scenes and a strong social aspect, which attracts good people to the club and helps keep them here too, on and off the field.

"Our facilities are excellent and our clubhouse is used for birthday parties and anniversary occasions. It has a decent-sized function room, skittles alley, raised stage for discos and such-like, and good catering facilities too.

"Although we don't have a youth department as such we have recently asked Richard Hendricks to take on the job of youth development with particular reference to recruitment of good young local players from the strong junior football clubs in the proximity of Cleeve. In addition we do have a good ladies' team with players coming from far and wide to play for us."

Williams added: "Cleeve itself is not a large village and it's never going to be easy to entice large numbers of players or supporters to come and back us, so we're very proud of what we've achieved. We play at a far higher standard than other sides on our doorstep.