FOOTBALL clubs around Lancashire are rallying behind Turton FC after Thomasson Fold officials were told their long-awaited return to the top flight of the West Lancashire League was ended.

The heart-breaking news was revealed to chairman Peter Gray on Sunday after league officials informed them only one team (Fulwood Amateurs) would be promoted to the Premier Division instead of two.

It comes after West Lancashire League sides were told at the Annual General Meeting in June last year that improvements to their grounds had to be made by a March 31 deadline.

Turton have received £87,000 worth of grants to improve their facilities during the close-season and but despite league officials being told that work would be completed in time for the new season it could all be in vain.

Chairman Peter Gray said: "The work has been planned for a long time and officials from the West Lancashire League have been at our ground up to six times and they are aware of what we are doing.

"Then I saw a conversation on twitter between two clubs about the March 31 deadline.

"We did not know anything about it and apparently it was brought up at the AGM last summer which we could not send a representative to.

"I spoke to one of the officials and told themm surely they should be supporting the club improving themselves but they held a meeting to say that one team should go up instead of two and no relegation from the Premier Division.

"It is extremely frustrating, the work will be completed in six weeks.

"I don't know why they cannot do what they have done in the past in the case of Hesketh Bank who improved their facilities just before the start of the season and were promoted to the Premier last year."

So far Burscough Richmond and Hurst Green have voiced messages of support for Turton as the news sparked outrage on social media and twitter.

Among the improvements include toilets, changing facilities and female officials facilities.

Gray said: "It would have been impossible for us to do the work during the season as there is heavy machinery driving across the pitches which would have cut up in the wet conditions and games would have been called off.

"I don't know why they can't just extend the deadline and then come to see us before the next AGM to see the improvements.

"Our grants get released over the course of the work so it was not as if we have done the improvements just because we were in a good position.

"If we had have known sooner then we would not have spent so much of our own money to get behind the team by getting coaches to take us to the Poulton game and try to get them promoted."

John Brown, general secretary of the West Lancashire Football League said: "The management committee meeting at the end of the season said that under the national league system clubs going into our Premier Division must have Step 7 graded by March 31.

"Turton are not in that position so our position is that they would not be promoted.

"Hesketh Bank's improvements were only cosmetic they had a ground to play on at the AGM the previous season.

"It was stated in the ground chairman's report that this season March 31 would be the deadline and we would not be extending that for any reason.

"The report from the AGM will have been sent out to Turton FC.

"At the management meeting in February were listening to Turton and it was decided they would not be ready for March 31."