YORK RUFC have been awarded £1,850 National Lottery funding from the Sport England's Community Asset Fund for emergency works following flood damage to the club.

The funding will be used to repair and reseed playing pitches which were badly damaged after Storms Ciara and Dennis.

The recent storms and floods devastated homes, businesses and infrastructure across the country and had a major impact on sports facilities, particularly sports pitches and water sports centres.

In February, Sport England announced emergency funding for flood and storm damage to help clean up and repair sports facilities and get them back up and running.

The grant will allow York RUFC to re-establish grass coverage on the pitch at Clifton Park which was severely damaged following the floods of this recent winter.

Mark Gronnow, chairman of York RUFC, is thrilled to have been awarded the funding.

Gronnow said: “During this uncertain time, we are delighted that Sport England has awarded this National Lottery funding to us which will allow us to repair our pitch.

This year’s flood was longer and more severe than previous years which left the pitch unplayable.

"This generous funding will allow the hundreds of men, women and children to keep playing rugby when the COVID-19 restrictions lift so that the community can once more benefit from these fantastic facilities.”

Tim Hollingsworth, the chief executive of Sport England, said: “We’re making emergency funding available now so, when the time is right, sports organisations can pay for rebuilds and repairs quickly.

"We are delighted to be able to get this emergency funding to York RUFC to help it get back up and running as soon as possible."