'totally Torn Apart' - How Morecambe Decline Threatens A Whole Community

In its post-war heyday, nan municipality of Morecambe was 1 of nan UK's foremost seaside vacation destinations, pinch a thriving section system and prestigious reputation.

Since nan diminution of nan home tourism manufacture which underpinned Morecambe's boon, its 105-year-old shot nine has filled nan spread - providing jobs, powering section businesses, and offering a consciousness of community, identity, and spirit.

But now, Morecambe FC faces nan imminent imaginable of shutting down owed to a deepening financial crisis, pinch proprietor Jason Whittingham's nonaccomplishment to waste nan nine starring to suspension from nan National League.

For proud section people, nan effect is enormous.

"It's perfectly horrible", says Alison Williamson, a Morecambe resident who began supporting nan nine successful 1974. "The shot nine gives truthful overmuch to nan town. It's conscionable truthful sad that Whittingham is down successful Essex and allowed to return it each distant from us.

"It's benignant of a grieving process. It's for illustration losing a personnel of your family that has ever been there. Even if you don't spot them each nan time, erstwhile they're not location anymore, you suffer and you consciousness nan loss."

The club's players were sent location a week agone and are incapable to train because of a deficiency of security cover. The academy has now besides stopped functioning,

For some, nan slow, achy deterioration of their shot nine threatens nan cohesion of nan organization and mimics nan erstwhile era's erosion of nan section economy.

"Morecambe utilized to beryllium awesome successful its heyday," says Les Dewhirst, nan club's kit man for nan past 30 years. "It had everything from mini zoos to fairgrounds to theatres and piers. We've not sewage overmuch of that now, but it's still a cracking spot and shot is specified a large portion of it.

"I met my woman astatine nan football. We were second-timers and our kids person grown up coming to this crushed together. Strangers extremity maine successful nan thoroughfare and opportunity 'hiya Les' and it feels good.

"I don't cognize each nan names of nan group who travel here, but I cognize each nan faces. We each travel present for nan aforesaid logic - because we care."

That level of attraction intends supporters, led by fans group The Shrimps' Trust, person been protesting against Whittingham's ownership of nan nine and demanding he waste up for years.

Takeover deals person been agreed successful nan past but thing has travel to fruition and fans look nan imaginable of having nary nine to support successful nan upcoming season.

"This spot is half of my life", says Kate Barker, a instrumentality and erstwhile main steward for 20 years who was subsequently made honorary life vice-president. "All my bully friends are here. It's a cliche, but we are a family and we look aft each other.

"We ever look guardant to seeing each different connected a Tuesday and a Saturday, and going to spot a match. We mightiness win, lose, aliases tie - nan consequence doesn't really matter. We've ne'er fto shot get successful nan measurement of a bully time out."

"We'll still stitchery together and talk astir nan aged times, what we've done and wherever we've been. But we should still beryllium capable to do it here, each week," adds Barker.

"Inside I'm being perfectly torn apart."

Where erstwhile connected nan town's seafront location were aggregate fairgrounds, theatres, piers and miniature zoos, location are now a smattering of bars and restaurants, galore of which are funded by matchday income and travelling distant supporters.

The club's peril intends section businesses are now astatine risk.

"The wintertime months are nan hardest here, because it's nan seaside," says Chris Donaldson, proprietor nan The Royal Hotel connected nan seafront. "The shot play sees america done that.

"I've sewage 19 bedrooms present and distant fans are coming from each complete afloat booking them weeks successful advance. The full municipality tin beryllium full.

"It'll costs america tens of thousands, easily. It's crazy what it'll do to nan municipality to suffer that benignant of money. Everyone will consciousness nan effect of it."

For unit astatine nan fans' matchday pub, nan quality successful demeanour is already stark.

"We get astir 400, 500 group connected a matchday," says Michael Woolworth, head of nan Hurley Flyer other nan stadium. "It feels for illustration everyone successful Morecambe is successful here.

"It's a ritual each weekend. In present we spot that shot really brings group together.

"But successful nan past fewer months we've seen nan happiness taken distant from them. We person regulars who person travel successful visibly upset."

Morecambe FC has been 1 of nan area's biggest employers successful caller times. But nan club's financial issues mean that salaries paid to unit and players person been delayed aliases not paid astatine each successful immoderate months. Dewhirst was past paid successful May.

"I'm eating into my savings now," he says. "Some group aren't fortunate capable to person savings - immoderate are going to nutrient banks because they can't spend to bargain their shopping.

"It's been difficult watching players leave. There was different 1 gone yesterday. I've known tons of them for years.

"I consciousness broken. Numbness has group in."

The nine offers acold much than shot to section residents. Its accommodation big a assortment of events, nosy days and fundraisers for nan organization and causes adjacent to people's hearts.

"The nine does awesome activity successful nan community, including sessions present for nan aged group and sessions successful attraction homes," says erstwhile co-chairman Rod Taylor, who has removed from nan committee earlier this summertime successful a video telephone hastily arranged by Whittingham.

"We've sewage a pre- and post-cancer group that meet regularly, we spell into schools to present sessions. You can't put a value connected that. A precocious percent of nan organization of this municipality is touched by much than shot successful immoderate way."

That thought of relationship crossed nan community, and crossed generations, is thing which typifies nan principle of Morecambe's protagonist base.

"Football is that merchandise from normality," Taylor says. "It's a generational thing. My granddad took maine to our aged stadium Christie Park erstwhile I was astir 5 aliases six years of age. It stays pinch you. It's ingrained. It's successful your DNA.

"I consciousness Whittingham astir apt has to raise much money to settee immoderate of his immoderate of his individual debts. I deliberation he's trying to compression much money."

The BBC has many times attempted to interaction Whittingham, but received nary response.

Chair of The Shrimps' Trust, Pat Stoyles, has dedicated swathes of his spare clip to trying to protect nan club's position and semipermanent early successful caller years.

"The deficiency of connection from Jason Whittingham has been nan biggest problem," he says. "The turmoil has been going connected for weeks and weeks connected end.

"The commencement of nan EFL play past play was difficult. Normally we'd beryllium glued to that benignant of thing, but seeing unrecorded shot again shows to group what we're going to beryllium missing.

"The societal portion of shot is nan biggest part. What goes connected nan transportation - that's fine. It's astir nan group you recreation with, you portion with, you guidelines with, nan organization that you consciousness isolated of. For a batch of people, losing that is going to person a large effect connected their full wellbeing, their intelligence health.

"Some group are already asking if, should nan worst travel to nan worst, we tin still spell to places together."

The National League will meet again connected 20 August and, unless convinced Morecambe person nan financial intends to complete nan season, will formally expel them from nan division.

Now fans, staff, and players hold anxiously to spot if Whittingham will yet waste nan nine earlier it is excessively late.