CWMBRAN Town are homeless again (writes Peter Shuttleworth).

The Crows had to vacate Cwmbran Stadium for this season as it undergoes a £5.1m redevelopment.

Port Talbot Town offered the Gwent side shared use of their council-owned Victoria Road ground, which Cwmbran accepted.

But now Neath Port Talbot Borough Council have reminded Port Talbot officials that their ground lease with the authority says they cannot sub-let the ground to any other club, leaving Cwmbran homeless again.

However last night Torfaen council hinted that Town could be back in Cwmbran Stadium in January or February.

The Crows have played six games at Port Talbot, but their match against Flexsys Cefn Druids, scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, has had to be rearranged to Sunday at 2:30pm at Merthyr's Penydarren Park.

A Cwmbran spokesman said: "We have been asked to leave Victoria Road by Port Talbot Town because it is a council-owned ground and there is by-law in the lease stating that it cannot be sub-let.

"We are very disappointed to be told that six games into our agreement, but there is nothing we can do about it. Rules are rules. The club would like to thank Port Talbot Town Football Club for its help in staging those six games.

"We also extend our thanks to Merthyr Tydfil for their extremely generous offer to use their facilities at such short notice."

Alan Stonehouse, estates and valuations manager at Neath Port Talbot council, said: "By allowing Cwmbran Town to play their first eight homes games at Victoria Road, Port Talbot jumped the gun a little.

"But now they fully realise there is a strict by-law against sub-letting property leased by the council."

The club are now desperately seeking a more permanent venue for their remaining fixtures and are looking at "all possibilities."

Speaking about Cwmbran Town's current plight, a Torfaen council spokesman said: "We are arranging a meeting with Cwmbran Town and the League Of Wales to find a solution to the problem.

"The work at Cwmbran Stadium is progressing well and we look forward to welcoming back Cwmbran Town in early 2002 once refurbishment work to the track and field has been completed."