BEWDLEY Town have lodged an appeal after their hopes of securing second place in the West Midlands Regional League were dented when they had three points deducted.

The club had the points taken off on Monday after a mix-up meant that midfielder Jon Hardiman did not serve a one-match ban in January for collecting five yellow cards.

Hardiman had been supposed to miss the league game at home to Ludlow with a one-match suspension but the game was called off because Bewdley's pitch was waterlogged.

The suspension should have been carried onto Town's next game, when they defeated Tividale 3-2, but chairman and club secretary Geoff Edwards failed to pass on the message to joint managers Craig Payton and Bryan Lacey and Hardiman played.

Despite the player being left out of Town's next match, the club was fined £132 by the Worcestershire FA for the infringement and as a result the league also decided to punish them by taking off three points.

It means that third-placed Bewdley will have to beat Wolverhampton Casuals away in their final match of the season by six clear goals to replace second in the table Shawbury United.

Edwards said: "It is a technical error by the club but I am not happy that we have been punished twice.

"It was a simple mistake by myself because I had a lot going on at the time. To have three deducted points and a fine seems a little hard on the club."

Edwards is still hopeful that the points can be saved and is in talks with the county FA to try and persuade the league to rescind their decision.