Darlington Football Club players were among thousands of people left wageless yesterday because of a blunder by Barclays Bank.

The victims of the error were told "not to panic" after learning they would not be paid until after Easter.

Barclays said the delay in processing payrolls would be sorted out by today.

However, because of the Bank Holiday weekend, the money will not show up in customers' accounts until Tuesday.

Darlington FC official Luke Raine said: "We all get paid out of the same system so it's meant none of us getting paid.

"People had gone to their accounts and found they hadn't been paid so they wondered what was going on, but they're fine now they know why.

"It's one of those things - that's technology for you."

Barclays said it had spoken to other banks and asked them to allow consumers to withdraw cash from today, even if it led to them exceeding their overdraft limits.

A spokeswoman said Barclays would compensate people for any charges they incurred as a result of the problem if they applied to the bank in writing, though she added that it was asking other banks to be "understanding".

The error affects people who work for firms which bank with Barclays, regardless of the bank with which they have their personal accounts.

Customers who have current accounts with Barclays but work for companies whose payroll is handled by a different bank will not be affected.

* Last night, HSBC said any customers having problems withdrawing cash from their account should call its telephone banking line, which will be open during the Easter weekend.