Freezing weather appeared to be the big winner and north Essex’s junior football programme felt the brunt of the victory with just a handful of games making it to the referee’s final whistle.

The entire Kent Blaxill Essex and Suffolk Border League fixture list was postponed due to icy pitches, however, White Notley did manage to get a game at Shell Club in the fourth round of the Essex Premier Cup.

Notley may have been left ruing the fact that they did survive the chill as the result provided little in the way of warmth and they returned with a 4-0 defeat.

The KP Evans & Co Ltd Colchester and East Essex League was hit in a similar way to the Border League, although Tollesbury pulled out all the stops to make sure the visit of Wimpole 2000 went ahead in the premier division.

Wimpole opened the scoring with a goal that nobody wanted to claim.

It came direct from a throw-in as the ball appeared to go straight into the net, but a goal was awarded, before Tony Farmer then got on the end of a cross with his head to make it 2-0.

Tom Goode smashed in the first for Tollesbury from close range to make it 2-1 at half-time.

Tollesbury came out for the second half, wanting to gain all three points and another goal from Goode and one by Jon Hill looked like the game would end at 3-2 to the hosts.

However, another from Farmer meant the final score was 3-3 and only one point each.

It was a very good game in terrible conditions and sportingly played.

A presentation by the league’s vice-president, Michael Seabrook, was then made to John Burdett for his services to the game and Tollesbury Football Club.

The weather gave little let-up the following day, with Sunday leagues similarly hit as their Saturday counterparts.

Clacton’s entire programme was lost and all bar one of the Lockton Colchester Sunday League games were postponed.

The only match that survived the chill came at Chappel and Wakes Colne as their reserves beat Athletico Layer 8-2 in division six.