VETERAN football referee Andrew Bolton has spoken about the terrifying moment he thought he would be scarred for life by a man at the end of a local Under-16

Mr Bolton, who lives in Sittingbourne, and has been a referee for 42 years, was threatened at the end of the Medway News Youth League match between Royal Princes Park and Marlowe Park at Strood. Mr Bolton, 67, had ordered off two Princes Park players in a 3-3 which saw Marlowe Park equalise late in the game.

At the end of the match, he walked to his car with a friend who, after a chat, walked across the car park to his own vehicle. As Mr Bolton went to open his car door he was confronted by a man, thought to be a parent of one of the team's involved.

"He put his nose right into my face and raised a fist," said Bolton. "Sticking out of the fist I could see the end of a key and I realised that if he struck me he would leave me scarred. He was short but extremely well built and said he would punch me if I wasn't so old. Then he walked off leaving me feeling pretty frightened.

"Had my friend not been close by I believe I would have been assaulted and I remember thinking about the benefits of my age. The thing is that had this incident involved a younger referee, it would have been one more lost to the game."

Mr Bolton, a former police officer, took the man's car registration number and filed a report of the incident to the Kent County FA.

He added: "I've had the tyres on my car slashed before but this was a lot more serious, though I shall carry on refereeing."

The league has responded by postponing Royal Princes Park fixtures for two weeks.