POLICE have urged Darlington football fans going to tomorrow's match at the Reynolds Arena to take extra care when crossing the A66 near the ground.

Although parking is available at the ground, many drivers are choosing to leave their vehicles in a nearby field which is being opened as a makeshift car park on match days.

Fans then cross the busy A66 bypass - which has a 60mph limit - to get to the stadium and police chiefs fear it is only a matter of time before there is an accident. Acting Chief Insp John Blacklock, of Durham police, said: "In all the planning which took place before the new stadium opened, nobody could have known that the field opposite the ground would be used as a car park. While there is nothing to prevent the owner using it in this way, it has caused us a problem as we now have a large number of people trying to cross what is a fast road."

He added: "We would prefer people to use the parking facilities at the ground, which would be much safer. However, if fans continue to use the field all we can do is urge them to be careful.

"There is no pedestrian crossing anywhere near and we cannot stop the traffic, so people will just have to be aware of the potential risk."