WELLING have been dealt a major blow after storm damage means they have to replace more than half of the floodlights at their Park View Road ground.

One of the floodlight pylons came down across the pitch in bad weather last Thursday and experts have told the Wings they need to replace all five of the old pylons.

Three pylons were replaced when the new stand was built on the Erith & Belvedere side of the ground in 2002.

Now, even if they are successful with a Football Foundation grant, the Wings need to find a substantial amount of money mid-season.

General manager Graham Hobbins said: "It’s a massive blow for us, especially with everything going so well on the pitch.

"People are suggesting it could be in the region of £60-80,000 to replace them so that money has to be raised.

"Whatever happens I can assure our fans we will not be cutting the budget – the money has to come from elsewhere."

* Keep up to date with all the news from Park View Road every week in the Bexley Extra.