AS Arctic conditions put paid to almost all outdoor sporting fixtures across Fenland last weekend, two football teams were left shivering and stunned when their game didn’t fall foul of the weather.

Jonathan Smith, who turns out for Walsoken United, had sat at home patiently expecting his side’s Cambs League Division 5D fixture against Upwell Town to be postponed.

“I was just waiting for the call,” said Smith.

“Most other games were postponed like they usually are when the weather is this bad but that call never came.

“At the start we were all like ‘what are we doing this for’ because it was absolutely freezing!”

Smith and his team-mates were eventually glad that the game wasn’t postponed after his side picked up a vital 3-2 victory at a freezing Gorefield Playing Field.

Smith, who scored a penalty for the home side, said: “If the referee would have called it off we’d have gratefully accepted the decision but once he said the pitch was playable then we just rolled up our sleeves and got on with it.

“Once we got running around we all warmed up to be fair and it wasn’t that bad. The pitch was more awkward than unsafe because the snow kept holding the ball up.

“Battling through the cold was worth it in the end because we grabbed three valuable points.”

Our photographer, Brian Purdy, braved the elements to capture action from the match.

He said: “I was searching the fields of Fenland for any sport that might actually be on.

“I thought it was a friendly to be honest and it was quite funny to watch because people were wearing hats and gloves and kept slipping over.”