An amateur football club will merge with another team in order to safeguard its future.

Colne Engaine FC has agreed to team up with Tiptree Park FC after last ditch talks were held to secure the club’s long-term future.

It had been hoped a committee meeting would help resolve a number of issues, which included dwindling player numbers and financial difficulties following the theft of the club’s £8,000 lawn mower.

However, it was eventually agreed the offer to team up with Tiptree Park, who play their home matches in Panfield, was the only way forward.

Chairman Tom Owen said: “We did have some people step up to take on more responsibility, and help with finances but not to a large enough extent to continue to run the club in it’s current form.

“We therefore have decided on a different way forward. Tiptree Park are a club in the same league structure as us, they proposed merging the two clubs and basing everything in Colne Engaine. They would also take on all the committee responsibilities.

“They’ve got a really great set-up and enough players with ours to give the club three teams for next season.”

The merged club will now be known as Tiptree Engaine and will be run by Tiptree Park chairman David Pomphrett.

Mr Pomphrett has high hopes for the new club and he has revealed he harbours ambitions to one day turn semi-professional.

He added: “I’m very excited. Hopefully this is something the whole of the village can benefit from and get involved with. It was too good an opportunity to miss. There ground is fantastic and it’s a lot closer to where most of us live.

“The ground needs some work on it. We need to replace the lawn mower that was stolen and we’re hoping to lay some patio down in the summer.

“Maybe in the future we’ll look at installing floodlights once we’ve met the neighbours and got them on board.”