FURY has erupted among North Yorkshire soccer fans after part-time heroes Harrogate Railway were branded the "lowest life-form ever to surface in the second round of the FA Cup."

While the soccer world rose to the achievements of the club in reaching round two for the first time in their history, a critical view of their match in The Daily Telegraph has caused ructions and earned the writer a red card.

Protests have spread far beyond the tiny Station View ground, which hosted a 3,500 crowd for the match against Bristol City on Sunday.

Their efforts on and off the pitch won widespread praise, despite a 3-1 defeat.

The Railway club drafted in volunteers who worked round the clock to stage the match at Starbeck, rather than travel to a neutral ground or play at Bristol.

But now soccer fans in the spa town, which has never experienced such FA Cup fever, are hitting back at the critical article written by Daily Telegraph sports journalist Tony Francis.

Under a sub-heading "Harrogate lose 3-1 and are ignored in a town full of sleepers", Francis complained his view of a corner had been obscured by a temporary toilet block.

He was critical of "an assistant" in the town's tourist information office who "could bore for Britain on the curative properties of sulphur springs but ask for directions to Harrogate Railway Athletic and she thinks it's a trick question."

Of his short train ride from Harrogate to Starbeck station, which overlooks Railway's ground, he wrote: "A four-minute train ride took me to the other side of the moon. Mud, mobile toilets and outside broadcast vans where none had ventured before.

"This was Station View, Starbeck, home of a bog-standard club from the Northern Counties East which had become the lowest life-form ever to surface in the second round of the FA Cup".

He then alleged Railway's "cunning" plan was to unhinge Bristol City "by offering them an Arctic dressing room so tiny the players couldn't help climbing into each other's jockstraps."

He poked fun at Railway's sloping pitch - which dips from one touchline to the other - likening it to a sheep meadow "which encourages animals to grow one pair of legs shorter than the other pair."

Railway's 71-year-old chairman Dennis Bentley, delighted with how the media generally had reacted to Railway's heroics, was scathing about the Telegraph verdict on Harrogate's biggest day in its soccer history.

He said: "I can't believe what was written about us. It was derogatory and everyone I have spoken to is absolutely furious about it.

"We put a lot of effort into getting the ground ready and then we have something like this."

Mr Bentley said the issue was being raised at a committee meeting next week when they would decide what action to take.

He added: "I have looked at all the other papers and they treated us well. But I think the Telegraph report was just going too far".

Harrogate's former deputy mayor Coun Ian Galloway said: "I'm absolutely fuming and disturbed that this man has made such derogatory comments about a team of part-time players who have brought honour to our town."

Responding to criticism of his article, Francis said it was just a "bit of fun" and claimed what he said about the changing rooms, pitch and toilet block were perfectly true.

He pointed out he had been trying to paint a picture in his report about the contrast between Starbeck and places like Betty's cafe and the Pump Room in Harrogate town centre.

He did not see any reason to withdraw any comments, adding: "But it was brilliant for the team to get where they did and make some money out of it too.

"But I don't think they should be taking themselves too seriously"