A young footballer is leading the fight to save the play space which launched her dreams of soccer stardom.

Teenager Sophie Pegler has been kicking a ball around on the grass opposite her home in Eastington ever since she can remember.

Now aged 14, the Rednock Comprehensive pupil plays for the soccer Centre of Excellence at Oxstalls in Gloucester and aims to one day play women's football for England.

But Sophie's Pitch, as the grass strip in Swallowcroft is unofficially called, is currently threatened by a housing redevelopment.

So her family, friends and neighbours have begun a campaign to save Sophie's Pitch by getting it formally registered as a town or village green.

"I would hope to play football in future for England," said Sophie, who plays in defence for the county's under 16s girls' team.

Retired resident Ken Nicholls, 66, also from Swallowcroft, is spearheading the campaign and said he'd found the play space was unregistered land.

"Nobody apparently owns it," Mr Nicholls said.

"We have maintained and cut this grass, even levelled it. We have witnesses who've used it over the years. The developers are just riding roughshod over everybody's feelings," he said.

Cheltenham based Kempton Ltd has applied for permission to build four houses on an old bungalow site adjoining Sophie's Pitch. Their driveways would cut across the precious play area, Mr Nicholls said.

Kempton's agent Simon Firkins said a village green needed to be land where local residents could go for exercise of lawful sports and pastimes.

"We seriously doubt that . . . this strip of land of less than 200 square metres can perform such a function," said Mr Firkins.

Sophie's father Malcolm said he'd lived at Swallowcroft for 25 years and children had always played on the grass strip.

Mum Sian Thomas agreed. Her youngsters Megan, seven, and Luke, four, regularly used Sophie's Pitch, she said.

Parent Felicity Baker from nearby Alkerton Road said there was no other play area her children James, eight, and Sophie, 11, could walk to unaccompanied.

"The major benefit is the safety," Mrs Baker said. "The alternative school field is across the busy main road and the memorial ground a quarter of a mile away."

A spokeswoman for the Gloucestershire County Council said the period for objections to the Sophie's Pitch village green registration ran until November 13.