Grimsby Town fans hire Mariachi band after Barnet inflatable ban

A Mariachi band, though possibly not this one, will entertain the travelling Mariners fans on Saturday

Grimsby Town fans have raised more than £1,000 to pay for a Mariachi band to attend their final away game of the season after Barnet banned inflatables.

The Bees said on Monday "inflatables will not be allowed into the ground" for Saturday's League Two game.

Two years ago Grimsby fans threw dozens of beach balls and blow up footballs onto the pitch at Barnet when both teams were in the Conference.

Mariners fans raised the money for the band on a crowdfunding website.

Trevor Hewson, one of the fans behind the page, told the Grimsby Telegraph: "For whatever reason, the suggestion about a Mariachi band, among other things, caught the imagination, and a couple of us decided to set up a crowdfunder page.

"It went a little bit crazy, and it has absolutely surpassed our expectations."

Any money left over after paying for the band will be donated to the Grimsby Town disabled supporters trust.

Mariachi music originates in western Mexico and is considered by many to be the quintessential sound of the country.

The Mariners are 14th in the table while Barnet are one place and seven points behind.

Why inflatables?

The craze of taking inflatables to football ground took a real hold during the 1988-89 campaign.

Stoke City supporters took 3,000 blow-up Pink Panthers to Manchester City that season, while inflatable bananas have become associated with Man City.

In 1989, thousands of Grimsby supporters descended on Plough Lane when the Mariners, then in the old Fourth Division, played top-flight Wimbledon in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Grimsby lost the game 3-1 but attracted headlines for a huge shoal of inflatable 'Harry Haddock' fish which filled the terraces.

After the last meeting between Barnet and Grimsby at The Hive two years ago one Mariners fan was found guilty of assaulting a football steward with an inflatable shark.

Fans have been taking inflatables into football matches since the 1980s