Workington Reds are speaking to Cumbria County Council in a bid to solve the problem which led to Saturday’s NPL North West Division match against Runcorn Linnets at Borough Park being called off.

Danny Grainger’s side were due to take on Runcorn on their return to league action at the weekend but a statement issued on the club website on Friday night from Northern Premier League general manager Angie Firth revealed that the game would have to be postponed.

It said: “Some issue / damage to spectator accommodation at Workington AFC has been reported that ultimately requires further investigation.

“Due to time constraints on a Friday afternoon, it has not been possible to have this signed off in time to allow the fixture to go ahead.

“We can only apologise for the late notice.”

The club’s board of directors met on Saturday morning and issued a statement in response to the postponement.

It said: “It was with great reluctance that we took advice from the Northern Premier League (NPL) yesterday evening and made the decision to postpone today’s scheduled match against Runcorn Linnets.

“We received a communication from the Safety Advisory Group yesterday advising us of an issue with our ground safety certificate.

“Given the timing of its receipt, we were left without the ability to immediately challenge or seek clarification in order to allow today’s game to go ahead.

“In response, the club has already spoken to a number of senior representatives from Cumbria County Council to put forward our position, and we intend to make formal representations on Monday in order to resolve the matter.

“As supporters and shareholders will already be aware, significant work was undertaken over the summer to prepare Borough Park for the new season, in challenging circumstances.

“We have had many positive comments since, stating that the ground is in better shape than it has in many years.

“We share everyone’s disappointment that the Runcorn match could not go ahead, but given that we were unable to clarify the problems raised, we were left with no other option.

“There will be a further update at the earliest possible time.”

Reds are next due to play at Borough Park on November 2 when they host Tadcaster Albion.