Barnet have insisted that the pitch at The Hive was playable last night until an “unprecedented” downpour resulted in the abandonment of their National League game against Harrogate Town.

The referee called off the match at half-time, with the score 1-1, after rainfall during the first half resulted in certain areas of the pitch becoming unsafe.

A club statement read: “After excellent and ongoing hard work from our grounds team, The Hive London pitch for 100% playable at the beginning of last night’s fixture. The officials also agreed that the match was good to go ahead upon their arrival yesterday evening and the match proceeded as planned.

“However, a severe and unprecedented downpour from kick-off which continued relentlessly throughout the entire first half without abating left the match officials with no choice but to abandon the fixture. Without the heavy downpour, the club is in no doubt that the fixture would have been completed without any issues.”

The Bees maintain that ground staff have been constantly working on the pitch, which has become a concern after the original tie against Harrogate on Saturday was postponed and matches earlier in the season, particularly the FA Trophy tie against Farsley Celtic due to the proximity to kick off, were also called off.

The statement continued: “Our grounds staff have worked tirelessly to ensure the pitch has been playable throughout the winter period, however, the unyielding and exceptional levels of rainfall together with two major UK wide storms have caused postponements beyond the control of the club.

“The club are bitterly disappointed that the hard work of our grounds team, has been beaten by the brutal weather conditions. Everyone at the club will continue to work around the clock to ensure all future fixtures will go ahead as scheduled.”

Weather permitting, Barnet will be away at bottom side Chorley this weekend, who are 12 points adrift of safety.