Freezing weather takes toll on weekend sporting fixtures

More than half the matches in League One and Two fell victim to the weather, with six matches in League One called off and eight in League Two a day before they were due to take place.

The clashes at Bury, Crawley, Crewe, Hartlepool, Scunthorpe, Accrington, Barnet, Port Vale, Rochdale and Southend were all postponed due to frozen pitches.

A waterlogged pitch did for Torquay’s match against Chesterfield and snow scuppered Bristol Rovers, while safety considerations for fans trying to get to the game forced the postponement of the matches between Oxford and Rotherham and Yeovil and Preston.

In Scotland the matches at Cowdenbeath, Brechin and Berwick were all called off.

There will be no turf racing in Britain this weekend after the meetings at Lingfield and Ascot joined Taunton, Haydock and Towcester in falling foul of the weather.

Meanwhile, European Rugby Cup admitted there is a possibility of disruption to the European Cup and Challenge Cup schedule this weekend.

The ERC said: “Should weather conditions or travel difficulties prevent matches from going ahead as scheduled, ERC will work with the clubs and match officials to ensure that fixtures are completed at the earliest possible time.”