AN appeal has been made to businesses in an old pit village to back the local football team during its enforced exile through subsidence at its home ground.

The coffers are emptying at Albany Northern League club Murton FC, which is forced to play home games five miles from the east Durham village.

Murton's fortunes have plummeted both on and off the pitch in recent seasons, with vandalism a constant problem at the club's Church Lane ground.

However, they reached new depths during the close season, when, after heavy rain, a huge hole appeared in the pitch.

The affected area remains fenced off as the parish council, which leases the field, looks into ways of funding a repair.

In the meantime, the team has had to play all games away from home this season, initially at Peterlee, but now at Meadow Park, Ryhope, Sunderland.

With the ground likely to be out of use until next season at the earliest, support has dwindled, and the club is struggling to meet even basic match-day costs.

Commercial manager Steve Robson asked the community to come to the club's aid, to see it through its dark days until the hoped-for return to its home ground later in the year.

"Ironically, we are doing better on the field than we have for some years, with a bunch of keen young lads we put together at the start of the season.

"But, because we're not playing at Murton, we're taking very little at the gate, and in programme sponsorship."

He thanked the handful of backers the club has retained, including the Queen Victoria pub, in Murton, and Dr Rangar's Woods Terrace surgery, but he said that more support was needed to see the club through to the end of the season.

Anyone offering help is asked to contact Steve Robson, on 0191-517 0590