Traumatic time for Brackley after fire destroys St James' Park clubhouse

Saints chairman Francis Oliver released a statement on Thursday morning following developments overnight.

Oliver said: "At around about 3am this morning a fire broke out at the club.

"We believe at this moment in time the main clubhouse building has been destroyed.

"Obviously this is a very traumatic time for everyone at the club and all involved.

"We do believe that the football side of the business will be able to operate without too much upheaval as we hope the changing room block has not been affected.

"Also we believe that the new build has not been damaged and this could be up and running within six to eight weeks.

"We will make a further statement once we have been able to gain access to the site to assess the situation and the issues we will be dealing with."

Brackley finished third in Vanarama National League North last season, eventually losing out on promotion through the play-offs.