Maidstone United v Tonbridge Angels friendly cancelled due to extreme heat

The pre-season friendly between Maidstone and Tonbridge has been cancelled due to the heatwave.

The Kent neighbours were set to meet at the Gallagher Stadium tomorrow night but the game has been called off following talks between the clubs.

A Met Office weather warning for extreme heat is in place and the temperature, even by the 7.45pm kick-off time, is still to be around 32 degrees.

Stones chief executive Bill Williams said: “This was a game we were looking forward to hosting but given the Met Office warning and having taken advice from our medical team, it just makes sense to cancel on this occasion.

“If it was a competitive fixture you would put mitigations in place but at this stage of pre-season, both clubs agreed this was the right thing to do for our players, management teams, supporters and match officials.”

The heat has also led to a potential delay in the completion of Tonbridge's 3G pitch, with Jay Saunders' side now playing their season opener away from home.

Maidstone are back in friendly action at Folkestone on Saturday - Ian Draycott's testimonial - while Tonbridge visit Margate.