DRAINAGE work is set to start on Bewdley Town's beleaguered Ribbesford Meadow ground at the end of May which should effectively rid the club of repeated waterlogged pitches.

Contractors will cut drainage channels and then lay a system of pipes stretching the length of the pitch.

At the same time, a series of drains will then be inserted across the pitch which will connect to the pipes.

The work is expected to last for 14 weeks which means Bewdley Town must play all their matches away from home until late September.

Club secretary Steve Godfrey said: "The work cannot start quickly enough. We've waited 18 months to see whether our grant application would be accepted by the FA.

"Every season, we suffer from waterlogged pitches which leaves us with a fixture backlog.

"This season has been no different as we've had to play 14 West Midland League games in April plus another two cup matches, which is effectively a game every two days and eventually it takes its toll.

"Consequently our injury list is getting longer and we're having to play players who are not fully fit".

Bewdley's West Midlands League campaign comes to a halt this week with home games against Bilston Town on Tuesday, Wellington Amateurs on Thursday and then Dudley Town this Saturday.

However, Bewdley cannot afford to take their foot off the accelerator as they need to finish in the top six to make sure of qualifying for next season's FA Cup competition.

As a result, they need to win all three of their remaining games.

Bewdley Town missed out on maximum points last Saturday when they conceded two late goals against Ellesmere Rangers having led 1-0 through a Lewis Pountney goal for most of the game.

It didn't help when they had goalkeeper Darren Steadman sent off in the closing stages after collecting two yellow cards.

Steadman was also sent off in Bewdley's previous game against Wolves Sporting Community, which Bewdley went onto lose 5-1 again having led 1-0 at one stage.

Bewdley's season will stretch into next month as they are scheduled to visit Malvern Town on May 4 in the Smedley Crook Cup semi-finals.

The winners will face either Bromsgrove Sporting or Coton Green in the final at Sporting's Victoria Ground on Saturday, May 13.