WOOTTON Bassett's derby clash against Devizes was abandoned in unusual circumstances when the match referee injured himself while inspecting the pitch.

He pulled a calf muscle as he walked onto the field and told both sets of players that he would be unable to take charge of the game.

Bassett tried to borrow a referee from the 3rd XI fixture being played nearby, but he was only taking charge of his second match ever and was not qualified to handle a first-team game.

The only fully-qualified referees at the ground were all members of Wootton Bassett RFC, so Devizes declined to play and the match was postponed.

Bassett spokesman George Loughlin said: "Fifteen minutes before kick-off, the referee went out to look at the pitch. He took about four steps and went back in again.

"We thought it must have been because he didn't like the weather. He literally walked out onto the pitch and pulled a muscle.

"He told both sides that he couldn't take charge. We tried to get the referee from the thrid-team game, but he didn't have all the classifications and would not have been allowed to do it.

"There were three referees present, including myself, but they were all Wootton Bassett club members, so Devizes declined to play.

"I can understand why they didn't want to play, and they were well within their rights not to play. They weren't interested in playing a friendly when we asked about that."

Wootton Bassett's players and their biggest crowd of the season had no option but to find something else to do on Saturday afternoon.

Mr Loughlin said: "We were all very disappointed. We were all looking forward to the game."

The fixture will have to be replayed at a later date, so Bassett were denied the chance of a win that would have leapfrogged them over their Wiltshire rivals into third place in the table.