LAWYERS GET THAT SINKING FEELING...
THIS season has collapsed under the feet of lots of Non-League clubs – but literally in the case of Tow Law Town.
The County Durham club were left stunned when a volunteer doing a routine check of the Ironworks Road ground on Wednesday night discovered a sink hole on the pitch.
The four-metre diameter hole, with a two-foot drop, is located around the halfway line and towards the touchline.
It’s not the first time the Northern League Division Two club have suffered pitch subsidence. It also happened back in 2004.
Secretary Steve Moralee told The NLP: “The whole area has coal mines underneath and we believe the sink hole has been caused by the collapse of an old coal seam.
“The Coal Board had to bring in quite a lot of heavy machinery last time. The hole was slightly bigger than this time. They had to take the top surface off, go into the second layer, drill some bore holes and fill it with some sort of grout.
“It cost well into six figures which, fortunately, the Coal Board was liable for – and hopefully they will be for this one as well. It would close the club otherwise.
“It all depends on what’s underneath.”
The Lawyers, who set Chris Waddle on his way to fame and fortune in the late 70s, now face an anxious wait to see when the Coal Authority will be able to take action.
Moralee said: “They opened for business at 8am on Thursday morning and I was speaking to them at 8.10. They took all the details and although it’s an enclosed ground, they are going to put further fencing around it.
“They will appoint a project manager who will work with the club. There are no timescales because they are working under restrictions due to the lockdown.
“We are a little bit worried about next season. We want to get playing on our home ground. We’ve been here since 1923, so we aren’t far short of a century.
“We don’t know how long it’s going to take to fix it and we don’t know about the football season either. If the football season is delayed, it may give us time to get it fixed.
“This is the second time it’s happened so we are also wondering if it’s going to happen again.”
On the plus side, the north-east outfit, who reckon they have the highest senior football ground with a grass pitch in the pyramid system, can count on backing from local rivals if they are forced into a groundshare at the start of next season.
“Two clubs were straight on the phone to offer any help they could give,” said Moralee. “Frank Bell, the chairman at Consett, and Vince Kirkup, the chairman of Crook Town, both got in touch.
“We are philosophical about it. It’s happened, so let’s get on with it.”