TADCASTER Albion were mopping up again just 16 months after floods caused £100,000 of damage at the club.

The floods at the end of 2000 caused substantial damage to both The Park clubhouse and the pitch, with Taddy unable to play any home fixtures for almost five months.

At the time, officials at the club were told this situation was unlikely to happen again in more than 400 years - but on Tuesday they were left holding their heads in despair as the River Wharfe again broke its bank and covered the pitch in four feet of water.

The waters again breached the clubhouse - which was only reopened in March last year - and although they subsided quite quickly, they were in long enough to cause more damage, though thankfully not as much as last time.

"The clubhouse was flooded again, but fortunately this time it drained out and it is not as bad as last time," said Karen Day, a committee member at the club and the wife of manager Wayne.

"It is not case of replastering and redecorating; last time we had to replace everything.

"We need new carpets and the dance floor looks like it will have be replaced, but we won't know the full extent of the damage until the water has subsided a bit more. At the moment it is just up to the steps outside the clubhouse.

"Even if we had put sandbags up it wouldn't have stopped the water because it would have just come up through the cellar."

The last time the Northern Counties East League division one side was hit, the pitch was left covered in a sludge-like residue from the river, but this time the club doesn't expect the same problem.

"After the floods washed away the solid fencing last time, we put up a wire mesh fence and this has helped the water drain away," said Day.

"Last time, the water got trapped on the pitch by the fencing, but this time the wire mesh allowed it to keep flowing, so this has helped us certainly.

"Also it was autumn when we were hit before, so all the leaves and stuff were left on the pitch, but this time it is just water."

Taddy were to take on high-flying Worsbrough Bridge at The Park tomorrow, but that game has now had to be put back.

"It looks like it will be another month until we get to play at home," added Day. "We have spoken to the league, so we are hoping they can arrange it so we can play our remaining away games and then cram in our home fixtures."

Fortunately, the players look set to stand by them for a second successive season.

"Wayne was a bit worried that all the players would be despondent that this has happened again," said Mrs Day. "But the vibes we are getting back suggests they are willing to stick by us again and see the club through."

Updated: 12:01 Friday, February 15, 2002