POLICE had to be called to disperse hundreds of angry Brentford fans after Accrington Stanley's game against the Londoners was called off just an hour before kick off.

A group of around 400 Bees fans congregated outside the Fraser Eagle Stadium just after referee Andy Haines had called the game off.

That decision came just four hours after a Football League-appointed referee had carried out a pitch inspection and passed the surface as playable.

The disappointed fans vented their spleen at stewards and blocked the exits to stop cars from leaving the stadium before the police arrived at 2.15pm.

Some fans were allowed onto the Coppice Terrace to look at the pitch for themselves, but police had to eject some fans who ventured onto the playing surface.

Brentford boss Andy Scott acted as peace-maker as he spoke to the group of fans on the terracing and, shortly after, fans and players alike left to make the 250-mile trek back to the capital.

Scott said: "It's very disappointing for the fans who had to make the long journey to Accrington.

"I'm disappointed in the state of the pitch because it's clearly unplayable and the game could have been called off on Friday.

"We were told at 10am that the pitch was playable, but it clearly wasn't, and I feel for the 900 or so fans who had to make a pointless journey.

"It's disappointing because we are on a good run.

"I'm sure the Accrington ground staff did their best and made every effort to get the game on but there wasn't a chance.

"Even if they had called the game off at 10am, we could have turned around and gone home but how things have panned out is very disappointing.

"It was the right decision but at the wrong time."

Stanley chief executive Rob Heys sympathised with the Brentford fans but bemoaned the financial impact on Accrington.

He said: "The financial aspect of what has happened is very costly to us.

"We stand to lose about £20,000 - and that's a lot of money for a club who operate on a tight budget.

"It leaves a big hole in our finances."

He added: "We did everything we could to get the game on.

"We called the Football League and they sent down one of their referees to look at the pitch and he gave us the go ahead.

"We then worked on the pitch, got some sand on the pitch and as we'd had no rain the surface actually improved.

"But the match referee decided that the pitch wasn't fit and called the game off because he considered it could be dangerous to the players.

"It's a shame for the Brentford fans but it's disappointing for us because there was a lot of media at the ground and we would have had a big crowd on but, at the end of the day, the decision was down to the referee."

Mr Heys added that the game could go ahead next weekend as both teams are out of the FA Cup but an official announcement has yet to be made.

A police spokesman said no arrests were made during the incident and no trouble was caused by the Brentford supporters.