Pontypool rugby club chief Frank Stanton has hit out at Torfaen County Council for calling off Saturday's home Welsh Premiership fixture against Pontypridd due to wintry conditions.

A frustrated Stanton said: "You really have to question whether Torfaen really want a semi-professional Premiership side in the Borough. We are very upset, the decision was a total knee jerk reaction."

Following heavy snowfall in Pontypool on Thursday night Stanton received communication from the council on Friday morning explaining that the game would be called off.

A statement from the council said: "All decisions to call off Saturday matches are as always made on a Friday in accordance with council cancellation policy.

"All 18 pitches booked for use on Saturday were covered in snow and heavy rain was forecast for Friday afternoon and night. The snow combined with the excess water that followed will have made it impossible for staff to carry out the required line marking at all the grounds ahead of kick-off on Saturday."

However Stanton told the Free Press that there was no need for such an immediate decision and that the council should have been prepared to wait to make a decision postponing the fixture.

"After receiving the e-mail from them (Torfaen), I immediately contacted them about the forecast and asked for a pitch inspection at 11am on Saturday. But they wouldn't listen, it was a very heavy handed approach.

"It was a monumental mistake by them, we were expecting the biggest crowd of the season and we estimate that the postponement will cost us around £4,000." said a frustrated Managing Director.

What seems to have riled Stanton and Pooler's staff more is the fact that by 11am the next day, in their opinion, the Park pitch was perfectly playable and that they were having to field calls from supporters as to why the game was off.

"As we predicted there was a big thaw after Thursday and by Saturday morning there was no snow and waterlogged pitch. The Park pitch was definitely playable," said Stanton.

"We even believe that some other youth games in the area went ahead. How can that be right? We are the biggest club in the area yet we don't play. From our point of view we just don't feel as if we are on a level playing field."

Stanton also believes that the club will be feeling the net effects of Saturday's postponement for the rest of the season.

One of the biggest concerns of the Managing Director is the pitch and whether it will be able to withstand the constant use over the coming months. Pooler are still scheduled to play at least nine home games this season.

"If we had played Saturday, we would have had two weeks then to prepare the surface for the visit of Aberavon," said Stanton.

"Now we probably face the prospect of using the surface several times a week when we get into the spring and that won't help us at all."