Trevor Coe has been elected as vice-chairman of the Upper Airedale Junior Cricket Association, despite opposition from the league’s executive committee.

The annual meeting at Cononley Sports Club became quite heated immediately before the vote took place.

League secretary Derek Hurren said: “We want someone who is positive and who can work with other members of the executive committee.

"We want this league to go forward. Our preferred candidate is Phil Keeton from Bradford & Bingley.”

Some club delegates were annoyed that Hurren had made the executive committee’s preference known before the vote, while another delegate said it was “character assassination”.

Hurren’s comments were a throwback to November’s meeting when Coe and his wife Ann were unhappy about the formation of the league’s disciplinary committee.

However, when it came to the vote, Coe, who said that if he disagreed with anything that happened on the committee he would say so, was elected vice-chairman 13-8.