Hereford United: Fans stage mock 'funeral' in protest

Fans of Hereford United have held a mock funeral march from the football club's Edgar Street ground to Herefordshire Council.

About 50 supporters, who said the club is effectively "dead", carried a coffin in protest to hand a 7,300-signature petition to council leaders.

The fans are asking the council not to transfer the existing leases on the ground to the club's new owner.

The debt-ridden club was expelled from the Football Conference on 10 June.

A winding-up petition was served after Hereford United failed to pay its bills. Its new owner, Tommy Agombar, bought the club - and its debts - from former owner David Keyte for £2.

Last week he announced the club could have debts totalling £1.3m and he stepped down as a director after just 13 days in the post.

The funeral theme was carried through in protest posters and costumes made by fans

The council, which owns the Edgar Street ground, is considering Mr Agombar's request to lease two of its stands.

Martin Watson, from the Hereford United Supporters Trust, fears the stands could be demolished. "There have been suggestion of houses and a hotel there," he said.

Protestor, Steve Alexander, said: "I don't see the club has any future while they [the current owners] are in charge of it. The only realistic outcome for the club is that the business will be liquidated at some point.

"One would hope that people tending for the leases may be able to get a head start and maybe revive the club from scratch if they have to."

The petition's 7,300 signatures far outnumbers the club's average attendance for the last season, at 1,758 supporters.

Mr Agombar, who took control of the club on 3 June, has denied allegations he intends to sell the land to developers.

Fans carried a coffin in a mock funeral march through Hereford