A FOOTBALL club is hoping to aid disabled fans viewing pleasure after spending more than £30,000 on improvements to its ground.
Spennymoor Town Football Club has spent £34,000 on upgrading the facilities at its Brewery Field stadium.
The Northern league club acted after it discovered that some locals and away fans did not go to games at Spennymoor due to the lack of disabled facilities.
The work has seen a toilet block refurbished for disabled users in the Tees Crescent stand and work to a turnstile to allow access to the stand.
Paul Callaghan, a club director, said: “We’re grateful for the local support. Before we did this work anyone in a wheelchair had to use the toilets in the club changing rooms.
“This project has seen the renovation of the Tees Crescent side of the ground and it had been standing derelict and had been pretty run down for a season and a half.
“Now we can open the gates at the turnstile and people can come in easily and watch the game on a level area and have access to the facilities.
“Work is on-going but we hope to have it completed by the time of the first home game of the season on August 18.”
The club has raised the bulk of the funds but it was given £5,664 each by Durham county councillors Neil Foster and Barbara Graham from their neighbourhood budget.
Coun Foster said: “There was no provision for the disabled people to watch matches at the ground.
“They have done work to a turnstile and have they have built a disabled toilet block and it’s all about getting people to use Spennymoor and its facilities.”
Coun Graham said: “We went and had a look at the ground and we felt that it was a scheme worth backing.
“They wanted to improve the ground to make it more accessible to disabled spectators.”
Spennymoor Town Council, which owns the ground, has also contributed £5,000 to the football club’s cause.
The team’s clubhouse was burnt down in 2006 and plans have been entered with Durham County Council for a new £3,000 one with funding being sought.