Your Shout: Post match crush had Seagulls fans in fear

By the end of the 90 minutes most of the Orient fans had long since left the ground. The 3,000 Brighton fans at the final whistle were jubilant as you would expect, but by no means rowdy. It was announced over the speaker system, that all away fans would be kept behind for an undisclosed time.

By this time, most of the fans had headed for gate 13 at the corner of the north terrace. The fans waited for about 10-15 minutes and were getting frustrated.

From my position high up on the terrace, I could see over the gate to Oliver Road beyond. All I could see was a stream of cars driving past. The Oliver Road was very narrow due to parked cars etc.

You can imagine the scene, 3,000 fans about to converge into moving traffic. Why was the traffic not halted?

The time came to open the gates, which is when the problems arose. My partner was just in front of me but within seconds was pushed way ahead of me, due to the funnel affect of fans through the exit route. In all, there were about 7-8 police and officials in the area, who were also caught up in front of the surge of people.

I eventually saw my partner, who at this point had been crushed up against the left wall of the exit, and looked to be in deep distress.

There were also two or three small children caught up in the crush. One small girl, who was in the arms of a police officer, was in tears as he tried to hold her aloft above the crush.

By this stage, only a handful of fans had managed to leave the ground. The reason for this being that only one side of the gates would open, due to the fact that the locking bolt at the top of the gate was bent over and the main metal frame had broken and fallen down.

So even if the gate bolt was free, the gate would never have opened. There was a Brighton fan, who was desperately trying in vain to open the gate to relieve the crushing that was occurring. The police and stewards made no attempt to open the gate themselves.

I managed to get through the crowds to my partner who was in shock and, once through the only open gate, escorted her over the road weaving through cars trying to pass. At no stage were we given any assistance by the police or stewards, who were obviously not in control of the situation and not one of them seemed to have the experience to take charge.

The overall condition of Gate 13 was in a shocking state of disrepair.

The frame had broken, the locking bolt was bent and there were rust holes with very jagged and sharp edges at hand height, which must all add up to a major safety hazard.

When most fans had dispersed from the ground and the chaos had died down, we tried to find a police officer to report the scenes in which we were involved but not one officer was able to give any help.

Having no success with the police, we decided to go and find a Leyton Orient foothall ground safety steward. We managed to re-enter the ground via Gate 13, where there were two safety officials closely examining the gates.

These officials would not allow us to talk with them or give us their names. We were told in no uncertain terms to leave the ground and that we were on private property.

After this, we decided to go and find a Brighton club official to report the incident to, and by chance came across one of the directors, Bob Pinnock.

Finally, we had found somebody in authority to help, who could see the severity of the situation and the outcome that so obviously could have occurred. Mr Pinnock walked up to Gate 13 to inspect it and to speak to the police and safety officers.

They would not talk to or open the gate even after he had said he was a Brighton director. Mr Pinnock said he would report the incident and speak to the Brighton safety officer.

I do hope he has done this for the future safety of Brighton fans and sport fans in general.

Michael Colburn BRUCE SAYS: Such scenes sound very familiar to someone brought up on football in the Seventies and Eighties but they should by now be a thing of the past.

BE CONSISTENT So Micky Adams can publicly humiliate his players calling them soft Southerners but flies off the handle when the fans boo them after a rubbish performance.

Come on Micky, you can't have it both ways, either the team is beyond reproach or subject to criticism. It is part of the fans' role to get behind the team 100 per cent, no matter how badly they are playing, for the entire 90 minutes but once the game is over we are entitled to express our opinion.

In the meantime surely there are some things that are better said in the dressing room than at the press conference.

Krispies from the South Stand, Hartington Road, Brighton.

BRUCE DAYS: I suspect Micky's 'Southern Softies' jibe was a calculated ploy to provoke a response from his team.

FIGHTING BACK So the gentlemen of Sussex Sunday Football say the Millennium 2000 Sunday Football Leagues "F.A. approved approach" of some of their clubs is unfair and scandalous. Why?

Is it because a "tin pot four team league" have actually worked hard this last 18 months or so to gain sponsors to ensure every team on board receives value for money? Of course, that's unfair.

Is it because we have based our approach following guidelines laid down in the Football Association Rulebook? Of course, that's scandalous.

Is it because we have advertised "illegally", considering we were under the impression that advertising in the media was accepted having seen adverts placed by three of the Leagues that complained in the recent article. If we have acted "illegally" then so have they.

Is it because we have gone against the gentleman's agreement we are now hearing about? What agreement? The parties involved have never even contacted us so how are we meant to know? Of course, that shows our lack of telepathic powers, especially when it's cloudy.

I ask the gentlemen involved, how do we gain greater membership into our League if using FA Regulation 24(f) is unethical, or advertising is illegal?

I also ask the gentlemen involved to let us know what they will be charging as a subscription fee next season and then we may see the real reason why we are creating such a stink.

The gentlemen involved should realise the most important thing in all this is the clubs. We are obviously being attacked for working hard to ensure that every club we have receives the very best deal we can offer.

Dave Hall, General Secretary, Millennium Mid Sussex Sunday League NO CONSPIRACY I am somewhat puzzled by Chris Beard's statement regarding "The Big Round Table of Sunday Leagues".

While we leagues do occasionally talk to each other, usually it is about council pitches and the computer system some of us use. I can categorically state that there have been no meetings between the Sunday Leagues since the Millennium League received its SCFA sanction. How therefore could they have been invited to attend?

I feel you should have verified with the SCFA why this league's sanction was delayed. While a number of leagues raised questions with the Sussex FA regarding this new league any delay was not of our making.

I also find it confusing when he says their aim is to provide teams from Mid-Sussex the opportunity to play football more locally. This does not appear to be borne out by clubs they are approaching. The list includes teams from Horsham, one from Lewes and another from east of Crowborough. The actual travel distance across their proposed catchment area is two miles further than the farthest any team in the Lewes League has to travel.

I do not consider last week's Park Life report an accurate reflection of what I said. I take exception to your claim that I was fuming over the Millennium League's action.

As for the legality of their advertising, I understand you can advertise for new clubs but cannot advertise as a means of approaching existing clubs.

Dave Pankhurst, Chairman of Lewes and District Sunday League