THE second instalment of the Beast from the East may have been heralded as the lesser of the two recent big chills but the weather it brought made for another fixture-hit Saturday.

Of the 10 games featuring the 11 semi-pro clubs in the area, only three survived the snow, sub-zero overnight temperatures and wet build-up to the weekend.

The biggest casualty of the seven games that were wiped out was Bradford Park Avenue’s home fixture against AFC Telford United in the Vanarama National League North.

There was no hint that spring is almost upon us at a snow-covered Horsfall Stadium when the club scheduled a pitch inspection. Telford were saved a wasted journey from Shropshire but the inactivity led to Avenue losing ground in the race for the play-offs.

Mark Bower’s men – who were just outside the top seven – dropped to 11th place, although they are still only three points adrift.

Brighouse Town also faced a home postponement and that too was costly. Town should have hosted Mossley in the Evo-Stik League North, but the pitch at the Yorkshire Pay Stadium was waterlogged.

It was the only game in the division that was lost to the weather and it saw Vill Powell’s men drop to second bottom, between Ossett Albion and basement boys Goole AFC in the drop zone.

All five of the area’s clubs in the Toolstation Northern Counties East League set-up were thwarted.

The only one of the five clubs to have a scheduled home game was Eccleshill United, who were due to host struggling Brigg Town in Division One. Their local rivals Campion should have travelled to Doncaster to play Armthorpe Welfare.

In the top tier, Liversedge's visit to Handsworth Parramore, Albion Sports’ trip to the east coast to take on Barton Town and Thackley’s sortie into North Yorkshire to play Pickering Town will all have to be re-arranged.

With most of the clubs already facing fixture backlogs, it only adds to their congested run-ins. Sedge are due back in action tomorrow night as they make a second attempt to get their League Cup fourth round tie away at Division One outfit Dronfield Town played.