Community rallies to help storm-hit football club

Steve Day, chairman of Sawbridgeworth Town, said repairing the damage could cost thousands

A non-league football club has received almost £3,000 in donations from the community after parts of its ground were damaged by Storm Darragh.

Sawbridgeworth Town FC in Hertfordshire said its roof and turnstiles had been destroyed, and the stands and a supporting wall badly damaged, over the weekend.

Storm Darragh brought wind speeds of up to 90mph (145km/h) in some parts of the UK.

Club chairman Steve Day said: "The bad wind has caught the roof - bearing in mind the stand is very old - and I think a couple of the structures couldn't take the wind."

The club is appealing for help to get "back on our feet" after Storm Darragh wreaked havoc

The club, nicknamed the Robins, plays at Crofters End in the Premier Division of the Essex Senior Football League.

Mr Day, 69, said the damaged roof was about 30 years old and that it could cost up to £5,000 to fix.

"We can get a few bodies up here before the end of the week just so we can clear the car park," he said.

"It's a big few weeks for us and we really could have done without this."

He said the club may leave the repairs until the end of the season.

"It is quite a lot of work involved, really. Hopefully we get a lot of local people to help," he said.

Club coach Ross Livermore said: "The only thing that got hurt was the bank account"

The club said its seating areas had been "heavily damaged"

Coach Ross Livermore said: "It's grassroots football. You have to help each other to survive and unfortunately something like this is taking its toll because its the funding that we're going to have to find to try and rebuild the club.

"It's just another tight knot of cash. It's something that we don't really want to have to pay out.

"It is what it is, really. You can't be angry; no cars were involved, no-one got hurt.

"The only thing that got hurt was the bank account."

Pat Boyd said the club was a big part of the community

Supporter Pat Boyd said her grandson played football at the club and she would always pick him up.

"I like that it is part of the community. You know everyone and you know all of the mums and dads," she said.

"It can't keep going without people helping it."