DARTFORD officials have been left "shocked" at a ruling that will see the club switch divisions for the third successive year.

A fiery Ryman League annual meeting ended with a vote to decide who would move from Division 1 South to Division 1 North, and it was Dartford who got the push.

The decision denies the club any Kent derbies, which brought in much-needed revenue last season and created plenty of interest around the county.

"I was shocked considering our name was never mentioned before in the decision leading up to the meeting," said Dartford chairman Dave Skinner.

"We enjoyed the local derbies and it will be disappointing to miss out on them."

The re-shuffle happened because of a merger between Hayes and Yeading, which set off a chain reaction across the football pyramid.

* Keep up to date with all the news from Princes Park every week in the Dartford Messenger.