TWO football clubs could be charged thousands of pounds and left in the dark for three months after a suspected car accident wrecked their electricity supply.

Petts Wood and Hayes football clubs were forced to call in electricians after finding the electricity box they share smashed open on January 15. Club officials called the police after suspecting a car had hit the box.

Electricity supplier EDF said it would be sending an engineer to the grounds in Barnet Wood Road, Hayes, on Monday (February 2) to provide a quote for the repair job.

In the mean time, midweek training and adult home matches have had to be cancelled.

Although youngsters still play at the weekends, the money-spinning kitchen serving hot drinks and food has been put out of action.

Petts Wood FC vice-president Graham Clarke says he has been told by EDF the work could take up to 12 weeks to complete and cost £2,500.

Mr Clarke said: “The money is not a problem - we can find that.

“But it’s a lot of money just for the privilege of waiting 12 weeks for electricity.

“That takes us through to the end of the season pretty much. It’s absolutely staggering.

“We can’t use our showers and there is no heating or lights. There are a lot of unhappy men, women, girls and boys out there.

“I can’t believe in a recession they are so busy they can’t do this in a shorter time.

“The little ones still need to get changed but not in the pouring rain and cold.”

The adjacent football clubs, next to Baston School, are home to 28 adult and youth teams, with around 500 youngsters taking part.

An EDF spokesman said: “We realise the inconvenience caused by the accident and take our community responsibilities seriously.

“At all times we will endeavour to speed up the process in order for electricity to be restored to a satisfactory state so the playing season is not disrupted any longer than necessary.”