THIS week, our town has been dealt one of the greatest injustices in its history.

The EFL’s decision to expel Bury FC has torn the heart from our community and left thousands in mourning.

On a day where fans demonstrated their love for the club by helping spruce up Gigg Lane, those same supporters were dealt the cruellest of hammer blows at a time when they needed help more than ever.

With their weak regulations and rigid deadlines, the EFL have made an example of this proud football club, punishing no one other than its loyal fanbase.

Owner Steve Dale has admitted walking away from Bury would be “very easy”, which is probably what he will do, leaving a community in tatters.

It should never have come to this. The organisation which is meant to protect Bury FC has betrayed one of its longest-serving members and is partly to blame for its demise.

When the club’s previous owner, Stewart Day, put the club up for sale at the end of last year, the EFL allowed a man, who has since admitted he had not previously heard of the club, to buy it for £1.

Is it any wonder then that Dale treated the club with total disrespect, failing to pay staff and players, accusing some of trying to extort money, and ultimately refusing to sell until the last minute? Did Bury Football Club ever stand a chance at the hands of such treatment?

To its fans, Bury is more than just a club. But perhaps you have to be a football fan to truly understand.

It’s a support network, an escape from the stresses of the world, a lifetime of memories.

For many, the club has been there longer than any friend or lover. Going down to Gigg Lane at 3pm on a Saturday is all they have ever known. It has always been there. Now, no more.

The fallout from Bury’s expulsion will rumble on for months, and an investigation into how it was allowed to happen is paramount. Lessons must be learnt, but it will be too late for Bury.