THEY were conditions, according to one travelling fan, “more befitting of the South Pole than South Devon.”

As the Bantams make the long trek to Plymouth this weekend, it marks almost exactly 40 years since a previous visit had to be abandoned because of a blizzard.

Then as now, City headed to the south-west on a poor run of form – even worse, given they were bottom of Division Three after seven successive defeats.

New signing David McNiven had offered some respite with a goal on his debut to put the visitors 1-0 up.

And the home side were down to ten men after the City striker was punched by full back Mick Horsweill.

But with the weather getting worse by the minute, referee Ron Crabb decided the show could not go on after an hour and postponed proceedings.

City were relegated by the time the rearranged fixture took place three months later – and Plymouth won 6-0.

But Chris Hawkridge, former chairman of the City Supporters’ Trust, has never forgotten that first game; one that – for official purposes – never existed.

As he prepares to retrace his steps to Home Park today, Hawkridge recalled a wintry weekend that remains etched on the memory.

He said: “I remember a goal kick being taken and the ball curling back into the area and being stopped by a defender from going out for a corner. The wind was that strong.

“Stories of the referee's watch having frozen, and of him suffering from frostbite, while apocryphal, may have more than an element of truth in them.

“But for me, at least the memory of a match that never should have started, a match that never finished and the most amazing weather conditions I have ever witnessed live on.

“While none of us will be looking for a repeat performance from the weather, this fixture will certainly bring back memories of conditions more befitting of the South Pole than South Devon.”

The pitch had been declared playable when the City team arrived. But sleet and then snow began to fall heavily about 45 minutes before kick-off.

Crabb needed medical treatment afterwards although he denied he had collapsed from exposure in the players’ tunnel. But he admitted he had never refereed in a game like it.

Speaking to the Telegraph & Argus at the time, he said: “It was all right when you had your back to the wind. But when you turned round to face it, it was hopeless.

“When we turned round in the second half, we could not see against that hail. A few of the players were wilting in the conditions and you have to protect everyone.”

City boss John Napier was understandably unimpressed with the abandonment as he felt an end to their long losing streak was in sight.

But it was the small knot of away supporters who really paid the price when the weather caved in.

They had huddled together for warmth in the main stand after a tannoy announcement inviting them to move and escape the teeth of the blizzard. Many of the die-hards had travelled in hope more than expectation, waiting any minute for news that the game would not go ahead anyway.

But the fun and games began once the referee had pulled the plug.

“It came as little surprise that it was abandoned,” added Hawkridge. “But the frustration was compounded when the police met us as we were coming out of the ground.

“They rounded up the 50 or so City fans who had made it down there and told us ‘bad news, all the roads out of Plymouth are blocked’.

“They got us down to the police station and made some phone calls. For those who had come by coach, they made arrangements for them to stay over in the naval barracks.

“I think they stayed there for two or three nights because the weather was so bad.

“Luckily, I was on the train and they found out there was one going out to Exeter.

“There was me and a couple of detectives but it must have taken hours to get there. At least once we did, the weather was a lot better.

“I live in the Midlands and eventually got home in the early hours. But for others, I believe it might have been the Monday or the Tuesday when they eventually got out.

“The record books will show that in that 1977/78 season, Plymouth beat Bradford City 6-0 at Home Park.

“The great shame is not so much the fact that City lost a match they were winning at the time of the abandonment, but that one of the most amazing games of football has effectively been struck from the record books and the game’s official memory.”