Cambridge United: Stand roof will be repaired quickly, chairman says

Large sections of the stadium roof had been ripped off, the club's boss said

A football club has pledged to fix a stand's roof before its next game after high winds damaged it.

Cambridge United's game against Morecambe was called off after the Main Stand at its Abbey Stadium was partially ripped off on Friday.

Chief executive Alex Tunbridge said some sections were "physically missing", but would be repaired before the Ipswich Town match on 4 February.

He added that having to call off the Morecambe game was "very frustrating".

The U's currently stand at 21st in League One, one place below Morecambe.

Mr Tunbridge said the damage was discovered on Friday morning after high winds overnight.

"We came in to sections of the Main Stand roof that had blown off," he said.

"Unfortunately, on the grounds of safety, we've had to lose the game... which is very frustrating."

Mr Tunbridge said the stand was "probably edging towards the end of its life"

He said because the stand was "very old" and had an asbestos roof, getting it repaired before Saturday's game had proved impossible.

"There are large sections of the roof that are physically missing," he said.

"There's not just the damage, there's the risk that if any more of it was to come off... it could be exceptionally dangerous."

He said the stand was "probably edging towards the end of its life" and the damage was "a good example of why we need to invest some further money into the stadium".

He added that the cost of repairs still needed to be assessed, but the repairs needed to take "no more than the next three weeks".

"We're here against Ipswich on 4 February and it needs to be done by then, and we'll make sure it is done."