CHESTER City have been expelled from the Football Conference in a vote by the league’s member clubs.

No-one at the club was available for comment this afternoon.

City Fans United’s initial reaction to the news was one of sadness.

*** Leave your thoughts on our blog ***

"This is a sad day in the history of the football club," said CFU spokesman Jeff Banks.

"But the right decision was made. Conference chairmen have looked at the bigger picture and seen that this was the best way forward for the football club.

"We must now continue with our plans to form a new football club in the city."

Barrie Hipkiss, once a player at the club and a fan for more than 60 years, said he was devastated.

"This is the last thing I wanted to see happen," he said. "I feel for the players, the youngsters, the groundstaff, Tony Allen the secretary, because this is a bad day for them.

"I spoke to Bob Gray earlier and he said he was sure tomorrow’s game against Oxford would be on but he was looking at pounds, shillings and pence.

"I would have liked to see the club survive but realistically I could not see us fulfilling our fixtures and that was the key point.

"I have also lost a lot of respect for Stephen Vaughan. I volunteered at the club and gave a lot to it and he then comes out and calls the fans idiots.

"That didn’t go down very well and if he’s calling me an idiot, well, he’s lost my respect."