'Our club is left in tatters': Campaign launched to save Northampton football club destroyed by Christmas floods

The clubhouse interior has been ruined by four foot of water spilling inside.

Devastated residents in Spencer are looking to raise £8,000 to save their football club after it was wrecked by the Christmas floods.

Spencer Community Trust Football Club’s pitch, which sits alongside the River Nene in Kingsthorpe Mill, was totally submerged under more than four foot of water on Christmas Eve, with waist-high water flooding into the adjacent clubhouse.

The trust is now battling to rebuild the clubhouse, which not only houses its youth football teams but is a hub for the community by feeding the homeless, holding events and raising money for charities.

Kind-hearted volunteers gave up their time in the festive period to help the cleaning up efforts but their help has only gone so far.

Now, the club has launched a campaign to raise £8,000 to repair the damage but with furniture and carpets destroyed, a thick layer of mud throughout the clubhouse, damp walls and a damaged roof, the rebuilding operation is going to cost thousands of pounds.

Chris Bayliss, Spencer Community Trust vice chairman, said: “This flood has been devastating for the trust and the local community. Our future really hangs in the balance. If we can’t get it up and running again we could go out of business.

“We have had lots of people help so far, but we need more help to get the clubhouse back open so we can carry on holding functions and raising money to fund our community projects - without a clubhouse we simply can’t carry on.

“We have a target of £8,000, which we think will be enough to help us rebuild the clubhouse and I am calling on people and local businesses to help us in our hour of need.

The clubhouse is not only used for footballers but is also a community hub to feed the homeless and hold charity events.

“I have never seen the flood water so high or ever seen it come into the clubhouse – it has destroyed everything. It is catastrophic as we have ploughed time, money and resources into refurbishing the clubhouse over the last year and now that is all gone.

“It has left our club in tatters. The water has drained away now, but there is still mud and puddles inside. We need the help of local tradespeople to rebuild the place and funds to buy new furniture and equipment. Please contact us on social media if you can help or email me."

Spencer Community Trust Football Club has been built on the ashes of the defunct Northampton Spencer Football Club, and is not just trying to bring grassroots football back to the area, but become a centre for the community.

It runs under-11s, under-13s and under-16s football teams and also helps raise funds for community projects.

Mr Bayliss added: “The club is about the community and we have great plans for the trust in helping to regenerate the area and help the local people, especially the youngsters to give them some hope to get them off the streets and to try to develop them as people with a bright future.

“The clubhouse is a devastating scene at the moment but I am sure if the community pulls together we can rebuild an even better community hub for Spencer.”

In the aftermath of the torrential rain on December 23, St James was also pictured by hundreds of residents as teetering on the brink of a major incident.

In particular, the water rose to a foot deep at the junction of St James' Road by the Thomas Beckett Pub. Several homes suffered water damage under their floorboards and gardens in nearby Lincoln Road were flooded.

It comes as 1,000 residents were moved from Billing Aquadrome on Christmas Eve after waters continued to rise after heavy rain surrounding 500 caravans, causing some residents to have hypothermia.