CRICKETERS who vowed to fight to the end to save their ground have been told they will face the police if they use the pitch again.

Members of the Hussania Cricket Club, in Burnley, were told by county councillors that they were trespassing and would be dealt with severely if they continued to use the St Andrew's ground, in Basnett Street.

But the cricketers slammed the warnings and plan to gather at the ground on Sunday to protest against the eviction.

County Councillor Tony Martin met with members of the cricket club last night at the Burnley Mechanics.

He said: "They had their seven-day notice to quit and that has now expired. A court order has been mentioned but they are reasonable people at the end of the day and I don't think that will be necessary.

"They are aware of the situation and if they don't leave we will get the police involved to get them off the pitch.

"It will still be used by the schools, as it is actually a school cricket pitch, but one of the conditions of Hussania's lease was that they didn't cause a nuisance to neighbours."

County Coun Terry Burns said: "The residents have had enough and if something had happened to one the County Council would have looked foolish. "We told the residents the decision last night and obviously they are a bit calmer now. They have had hassle for years."

But secretary of the club, Ejaz Hussain, has not been put off by the warnings from the council.

He said: "We admitted the cricket balls sometimes go over the fence but, in the last five years, there has only really been one serious incident and we have paid for it out of our insurance.

"The decision to revoke the licence has been totally one sided and we still feel that it's all racial discrimination.

"We will carry on going to the ground until a satisfactory result is found and on Sunday we will be protesting at the ground.

"We will not accept this decision."

The ground has been used for more than 100 years but complaints began five years ago when Hussania Cricket Club began using the ground for their North East Lancashire League fixtures, as well as Pendle and District League and Burnley League matches.