Cambs football team forced to cancel match after Storm Ciara 'completely ruins' stand
The engineers removing the damaged stand are in a 'race against time' to take it down before Storm Dennis hits
Harry GoldTrainee Multimedia Reporter
(Image: PA)
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A football team that saw one of its stands ruined during Storm Ciara has been forced to cancel a match scheduled for this weekend.
Structural engineers have begun dismantling Wisbech Town FC's wrecked stadium after the wind decimated the stand on Sunday (February 9).
But now, following the news that Storm Dennis will be arriving at the weekend, the club has been forced to cancel Saturday's game against Frickley Athletic amid fears that the remaining stand might suffer a similar fate.
Club secretary Spencer Larham, 49, said: "There's another storm coming and we haven't had a chance to assess any potential problems.
"That's the reason we have cancelled the game. When you have had one storm and it's taken one stand down, you don't want it to happen again."
The engineers responsible for removing the stand are also locked in a race against time to remove it before the storm hits.
Spencer said: "I would think there's probably another couple of days work.
"The weather's going to be bad on Saturday, so they're trying to get it down before then."
But it's not all bad news for the club - after discussions with an insurance company, Spencer said a £15,000 payout had been agreed to cover the costs of a new stand.
While the money might pay for some of the expenses, Wisbech Town is still looking for an additional £5,000 to cover all the costs of replacing the stand.
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Spencer said: "I have been told £20,000 is about what we need to carry out the repairs and replace it with something similar.
"We're looking at options in terms of strengthening the remaining stands. We would want to put in some structural elements to kind of make sure that we don't get a repeat of this.
"The problem with building a stand is it's built to last for a long period of time."
The stand, which was built in 2010 and contains three rows of 18 seats - 54 in total - cost £13,000 when it was originally erected.
Spencer said any repair work would likely be months away, due to the number of upcoming fixtures in the club's calendar.
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He said: "I would think whatever we get in place will probably be done over the summer, when we've got no games at all to be played.
"The main issue is just the fact that when people turn up they are used to standing behind the goal and being under cover, and they won't any more.
"It's unfortunate that when it rains, they are going to have to go and find shelter elsewhere, so we're going to lose that kind of atmosphere."
You can donate to the club's fundraiser here.
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