Storm Doris escape for young stars

The Met Office say the 'Weather Bomb' rocked the UK with rain, snow and winds of up to 94mph, uprooting trees, stopping trains and grounding planes while lifting rooks and causing major structural damage. In Wolverhampton city centre, one woman died after being hit by flying debris.

While the Yeltz called the winter storm an "unforgiving mistress" alongside pictures on Twitter of a peeled back dugout roof, their rivals in the top flight were left dreading what could have been at the DCJ Group Arena after a spotlight pylon crashed down on the roof of a building where more than thirty students from the EVO-STIK Northern Premier League's ground-breaking NPL Football Academy were receiving tuition.

Thankfully, nobody was hurt inside the Shorts Lounge or by a tree which also crashed down on the tea bar at Causeway Lane. On Friday, relieved club officials hailed the "herculean efforts" of volunteer fans for helping to repair the damage and clean up debris in time for their home derby on Saturday with Mickleover Sports.

Matlock Town chairman Tom Wright said: "The main thing was that nobody was hurt. When you think of what might have happened, it could have been a good deal worse.

"I'd like to thank everyone who has played a part in the clean-up operation and worked so hard so that we can stage the game with Mickleover on Saturday. We have some fantastic people at the club and some magnificent volunteers; I can't thank them enough."

The major operation included removing the pylon from the Shorts Lounge roof and then cutting it up to be taken away before disposing of tree branches which had enveloped the tea bar.

Wright added: "We certainly didn't expect that but once again people have rallied round and worked together for the good of the club. We wanted to ensure our fans had a game to watch on Saturday and hopefully the bad weather won't return to stop that from happening."

Images courtesy of Matlock Town & Halesowen Town on Twitter

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