CASH-strapped Blackburn Hawks have parted company with four players - with half their English Premier League campaign still to run.

Canadian hitman Chad Brandimore along with long-serving British trio Simon Mills, Tim Dempsey and netminder Colin Downie, have all been released from their contracts in a shock move at Lancashire's premier ice hockey club.

Although Hawks officials have yet to elaborate on the situation it seems certain that the decision is money driven - a reaction to a falling balance.

Blackburn Arena managers are known to be disappointed by the attendance levels at home games this season.

Hawks, currently enjoying a wonderful season on the ice, are four points clear at the top of the English Premier League. But they suffered from static gate receipts despite their dominance in the new-look league.

Indeed, attendances are only marginally up on last year when Hawks spent most of the season on the bottom rung of the league ladder.

Both Mills and Dempsey only signed new deals in the summer.

Mills in particular has been a key member of the Hawks' squad for five years, picking up both the Players Player of the Year and the Supporters Player of the Year awards last season.

Forward Brandimore, snapped up this summer, is the only foreign player to be released. Signed up alongside Lamonte Polet and Andrew Dickson, Brandimore has struggled to live up to the impressive goal-tally of his two Canadian team mates.

Despite the current difficulties a spokesman said that the immediate future of the club was assured.

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