Thames Water's decision to use Stadium Way on Tuesday evening (October 6) left them in hot water with Reading City Football Club chairman Martin Law.

His side were playing a Hellenic League match at Scours Lane against Fairford Town and the horrendous traffic jam in the area prevented supporters from getting to the ground and forcing the kick-off to be delayed by 20 minutes.

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"We heard that fans were stuck in traffic for such a long time that they decided to turn around and go back home," he said.

"Some of those who did make it to the ground had to abandon their cars and walk the rest of the way.

"We had around 50 people through the gate, but that was only a small percentage of our usual fan base. There was no other football in the area and we were confident of attracting a big crowd. We had more than 170 watching us the other day.

"Thames Water have impacted our financial wellbeing."

Club treasurer Victoria Pyke claimed Thames Water had "completely ruined our football" and tweeted: "It is hard enough for non-league football as it is. The outlay in wages, stock, preparation for the game runs into a high cost."

Thames Water spokesperson Stuart White said: “I understand the frustration. We always carefully consider where to position our bottled water stations, and Stadium Way was our very best option with the clock ticking. We also needed more space than normal this time to maintain safe distancing.

“Our priority has to be ensuring our customers have access to water on these very rare occasions. We hope those who missed out can make Saturday’s big FA Vase derby against Woodley United at Scours Lane.”

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Fortunately, the evening ended on a happy note for the Reading City team as they defeated Fairford 2-1 and returned to the top of the Hellenic League table.