CHARLTON’S fight for Premier League survival has fired the imaginations of Kent football fans with a record 4,100 travelling on the club’s Valley Express coach service for Saturday’s sell-out home game against Wigan.

The figures write another chapter in the growing success story of the cut-price coach service and easily beats last season’s previous best of 3,800 for Blackburn’s visit.

A total of 82 coaches will carry Kent based supporters to The Valley with the biggest take-up coming from Sittingbourne’s Woodcoombe Youth Group who are taking 230 people in five coaches.

Valley Express co-ordinator Rick Everitt admitted: “We’ve run out of coaches. Our suppliers, Reliance and Kings Ferry simply don’t have any more.

“With Wigan taking just 1,200 of their allocation, we’ve been able to release more tickets which have been eagerly snapped up by Kent fans.

“People are travelling from all parts of the county to get behind the team. Normally, at this time of the season, Charlton are becalmed in mid-table with nothing to play for. This season there is everything to play for.”

Fifty coaches have already been booked for the home game against Reading on Monday, April 9 and 60 for Sheffield United’s visit on April 21.