Steve Burns has answered Bradford & Bingley’s second-row SOS.

The former Macclesfield player will start his second spell at Wagon Lane by being part of their squad for a National League Three North derby against Halifax on Saturday.

With Barry Clark out with a broken arm, Burns’ return is timely.

The 24-year-old lock did train with Otley in the summer, played in their pre-season match against Hull and made two appearances off the bench in league matches but hasn’t made regular appearances in their first-team squad.

The Bees have also signed former England Schools’ player Matt Barratt, and he is also included in their squad of 20.

Although derbies can be notoriously unreliable in terms of form, the contest does give third-from-bottom Bradford & Bingley an ideal opportunity to put some distance between themselves and second-from-bottom Darlington Mowden Park.

The Bees are only four points better off than Park but 13 ahead of Halifax, who have lost all 11 of their league games so far this season.

Bradford & Bingley (home to Halifax) from: M Dracup, J McBurnie, L Frost, M Kirkby, M Barratt, D Sanders, S Dixon, S Brimacombe, J Bartlett, I Judson, J Whitfield, R Raper, R Wilson, P Scott, S Burns, R Hughes, B Grange, N Spence, G Ford, A Enoka.