Former Halifax Sunday League team Bradshaw Groundhogs reunited at 50th anniversary event

The 75-plus attendees included former players, wives, supporters, managers and 10 players who were there at the very beginning for the club's first season back in 1972/73.

Mike Fletcher, who helped organise the event, said: "It was tremendous that many said it was so fabulous to see friends from 50 years ago and whom they hadn’t seen for maybe 40 years.

"This is life, we all get involved with our own families, work commitments, move town and slowly drift apart, though the joy on people’s faces when they were talking to their old former team-mates was a picture.

"As always, our founder member Steve “Pellet” Ellis had put his artistic skills to work which allowed him to present everyone with a “50 Badge” as a memento of the occasion.

"His wonderful collection of artworks was the main vehicle for raising money for our selected charities. Founder player and auctioneer for the evening, Steve Lambert, assisted by Christa Ackroyd, was in top form and the event raised over £500 for charity.

"We also had on display an 18-foot-long table which had folders with newspaper clippings documenting the performances from all the seasons of the club's history. This was an amazing collection of nostalgia for everyone to look through."