COLNE Cricket Club have been thrown out of the Craven & District Football League.

The decision was taken at Wednesday's annual meeting of the league in Skipton.

Member clubs supported an amendment to a proposal to give the Silentnight Premier Division side an extra 14 days to pay their outstanding dues to the league and instead they were expelled from the league with immediate effect. Voting was by a substantial majority.

Colne have been in dispute with the Lancashire FA over outstanding fines and monies owing to the Craven League now amount to over £150. In recent weeks Craven officials have kept a watching brief, waiting to see how the Lancashire FA handled the situation, but interim attempts to persuade Colne to settle their debts with the Craven League have fallen on deaf ears.

The other major decision to be taken at the meeting was the move to upgrade a win from two points to three from next season.

While Colne CC disappear from the league, Colne Shepherds will be the leagues only newcomers next season.

The final composition of the league for next season will be left to the Management Committee, although it was intimated at the meeting that three divisions of 11 teams and one of ten would be the most likely format.