FOR the second time in a decade, members of Tynedale Rugby Club and Corbridge Cricket Club could only watch in helpless horror as the Tyne topped flood defences and swamped their facilities.

The raging waters reached almost to the crossbar on the main rugby pitch – 10 feet from the ground – while the cricket club‘s pavilion, refurbished at a cost of £130,000 just last year, was also under three feet of water.

Damage at the cricket club alone was estimated at £100,000. Playing kit and machinery were severely damaged while all electrical items in the club house have been destroyed too.

A recently installed new cooker, the prize when the club’s women‘s team, the Angels, made the final of the Yorkshire Tea competition to find the best cricket teas in the country, was a victim of the storm.

Members are to meet this week to discuss how they recover from the devastation, but insist they will be back functioning by the start of the new season in April.

Committee member John Maude said: “The field must have been under four foot of water, and all our machinery was completely submerged. It is very bad news for the cricket club but we are all more concerned about the local people who have had their homes flooded.

“We will recover, so our thoughts go to the people around us who have always been good neighbours to us.”

The club will have the support of both Northumberland Cricket Club and England Cricket Board, the latter set to meet this week to discuss what financial support it can provide to Corbridge and cricket clubs affected in Cumbria.

Just as was the case 10 years ago, the rugby club had a home game on Saturday, before which club president Mike Fieldhouse was staging a special thank you lunch for sponsors.

Around 60 meals were wasted as the game was cancelled at the last minute – and Mr Fieldhouse was hit by a double whammy as his own house at The Stanners was also badly hit by the flood.

Water surged inside the clubhouse and changing rooms to a depth of several feet, wrecking fixtures and fittings which had only be replaced after the last flood.

A container used to store the pumps and other equipment for the charity Tynedale Beer Festival held at the ground every June was also upended and the contents wrecked.

Mr Fieldhouse said: “We held a very constructive meeting on Monday night and included representatives from the junior football and tennis clubs. If it is humanly possible, we intend to play the Harrogate fixture at Tynedale next week.

“The clubhouse was completely emptied by volunteers by 3.30pm on Tuesday and the clean-up work is well under way.”

He said the club was looking at ways of making the clubhouse less susceptible to flood damage, and would incur considerable extra costs in addition to the £10,000 excess on the policy, which was a legacy from the 2005 floods.