BARNOLDSWICK Town saw all the hard work of their groundstaff go down the drain as their Boxing Derby derby clash with neighbours Nelson was called off.

Heavy rain on Friday night and Saturday meant the pitch at the Silentnight Stadium became waterlogged and the Hallmark Security League Premier Division clash had to be called off.

Manager Stewart Airdrie said: "I feel for all the people who worked so hard to try and get the pitch fit for play. We had made a bit of a mess of it in our previous game against Ashton Athletic, but the groundstaff made a huge effort to get it into shape.

"By Friday morning it was looking in decent shape and was all marked out, but we knew their was a poor forecast and all the heavy rain meant there were puddles on the pitch.

"It was disappointing for all those who had put in so many hours of work. They couldn't have don any more, and to miss out on a derby game hits the club's coffers.

"A Boxing Day home game should have meant a bigger crowd than normal which would have helped the club's finances. Now the game will have to be rearranged as a midweek fixture.

"We might try and see if we can get it on a Friday night to attract a better crowd than on a Tuesday evening."

Barnoldswick have not had good luck with the weather this season. They have already had five matches called off, home league games with Atherton Colliery, Abbey Hey and Nelson while their Macron Cup Tie with Abbey Hey was eventually switched to the Silentnight Stadium after twice being called off at their opponents' ground.

The pressure to play the cup tie surprised Airdrie. He said: "We don't play the third round tie against Widnes until March so it was a bit surprising there was a rush to get the tie played, especially as we have league games to catch up on."