THE mining heritage of two towns will be celebrated at a football match this month– with fans encouraged to wear flat caps for the fixture.

Spennymoor Town FC has joined forces with Durham Miners’ Association to make the home game against Alfreton Town a special one.

Both towns have a strong mining history which will be marked during the Vanarama National League North match on Saturday, March 23.

Lady Elsie Robson, a keen ambassador for the region’s mining heritage, will be guest of honour at the match, which is also being supported by business leaders including Ammar Mirza and Great Annual Savings Group chief executive Brad Groves.

Admission prices have been reduced and all supporters are encouraged to wear flat caps.

The club’s academy children will march on the pitch holding historical mining banners from Durham Miners’ Association, accompanied by a miners’ band, and there will also be a memorabilia display in the match day marquee, to which supporters can contribute.

Collections will be held at the match for “The Marras” Friends of Durham Miners’ Gala, which runs the annual Big Meeting.

Tony Wilson, managing director of Spennymoor Town FC, said: “There are many passionate former miners and relatives of miners in Spennymoor. We’re working with Durham Miners’ Association in a few different areas and Miners’ Day is going to be a great way to mark that publicly.

“The Alfreton game stood out as a great opportunity as they too are a former mining town.

“We look forward to the day and we hope both sets of supporters get behind the idea. It will make for some unique photos around the ground and evoke some nostalgia with a crowd full of flat caps.

“Lady Elsie has agreed to attend as our guest of honour, for her ties to Langley Park and, of course, North East sport. For 11 years, she has worked tirelessly to support the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation to find more effective ways to treat and detect cancer. We’re thrilled to have someone so inspirational join us on the day.

“We’re going to engage our academy and other young people through Spennymoor schools to be a part of it and make it a day to remember.”

Ross Forbes, programme director at Durham Miners’ Association, said: “We’ve been speaking with Spennymoor Town for a while now and the club is looking to engage with new audiences across County Durham.“Our mining heritage is something we’re inherently proud of in this area, so it’s a great way to widen the club’s appeal and we hope that it gets plenty of support from the club’s usual match attendees, but also from people who may not have been to a Spennymoor match before.”

Entry to the game at The Brewery Field, Spennymoor, are available on the gate. It will cost £10 for adults, £8 for over 60s, £3 for under 18s and under 10s are free with a paying adult.