BURY'S League One match at home to Barnsley has been called off due to flooding around the stadium as well as on the pitch, a club spokesman has confirmed.

The news was broken on the Shakers' official Twitter account today at 10.13am following heavy rain on Christmas Day and overnight.

 


 

Match referee Kevin Wright made the decision following a pitch inspection at 10am. 

The Bury press team had earlier posted pictures of flooding in the stadium on Twitter, warning supporters that the match was likely to be called off.

 


 

 


 

And they added further photos of the soggy conditions around the pitch after the decision was made.

 


 

Some fans who responded to the club tweets argued that supporters would be happy to dodge the puddles around the statdium in order to get the game on.

But Bury replied on their official Twitter feed: "We would like to stress that whilst there is flooding around the ground, the pitch is also very waterlogged."

Matches at Wigan and Blackburn have also been called off.

The Met Office has issued a red weather warning for heavy rain to continue in the area for the remainder of the day, with people warned against all but essential travel in the region.

The postponement will come as a blow to the club, with an attendance of more than 5,000 expected for the festive clash.

Manager David Flitcroft had raised concerns about falling attendances in the run up to Christmas, with the match against Chesterfield attracting less than 3,000 spectators.

But it was hoped that a strong away following from Barnsley and the traditionally better crowd on Boxing Day would lead to a bumper gate.

A date for the rearranged game, as well as information about ticket refunds, is still to be announced.