Second Division Birtley are furious with Gillford Park after being told to travel for their STL Second Division game this morning – only to be told 90 minutes later that the game was postponed.

The game was scheduled to take place at Gretna, and at 8.15 this morning Birtley were contacted by the Gillford Park secretary, who said that “everything was ok” and that Birtley should travel.

However, 90 minutes later while they were on the bus, Birtley secretary Trevor Armstrong received another call from Gillford, saying that the groundsman had called the game off because the pitch “had started to freeze.”

Birtley stopped in a lay by 34 miles from the ground, and called the league for advice. The match referee, meanwhile, was travelling from Marske, and told Birtley and the league that he would continue to the ground and carry out an inspection, so the league told Birtley to stay put and await the result of the inspection.

The referee found that the pitch was “frozen solid” and officially called the game off.

Furious Birtley secretary Armstrong said: “At 8.15 I was told that the pitch was fine, but then later I was told that the Gretna groundsman had called the game off. What was wrong with using a local referee? We’ve also spent £460 on a bus to take us over to Gretna.”

And Birtley manager Scott Oliver said: “I can’t believe that the pitch conditions worsened in 90 minutes. Why did they tell us everything was ok at 8.15? Apparently when the ref inspected, there were no Gillford officials present. I think we’ve been shown a lack of respect by Gillford Park.”

Northern League secretary Tony Golightly said: “Gillford told me that a cold wind had blown in off the Solway Firth and frozen the pitch. If Birtley wish, then they can lodge a complaint to the league.”