Deal Town FC chairman Stuart McCluskey has issued a stark warning about the club’s future if it is refused permission to build a new clubhouse.

The club’s application to replace its existing clubhouse with a sectional timber building in the opposite corner of the Charles Ground will be heard by Dover District Council’s planning committee next Thursday.

The council has received 17 objections from residents in St Leonard’s Road, Gilham Grove and Bruce Close, and Mr McCluskey insisted: "Since taking over as chairman at the end of last season, I have gone through the club’s finances with a fine-toothed comb, and the fact is this club will cease to exist if we don’t get the new clubhouse.

"There are no ifs or buts, the club will fold and the question is, do the people of Deal want a senior football club? If they do, they have got to get behind us."