Histon officials admit being threatened
HISTON Football Club are at the centre of a Police investigation after club officials were threatened and intimidated.The former Ridgeons Premier Division side, who took the season just gone by storm, knocking Leeds United out of the FA Cup and reaching the Blue Square Premier play-offs, suffered an unpleasant ordeal at the season's start.
Mike Bacon
HISTON Football Club are at the centre of a Police investigation after club officials were threatened and intimidated.
The former Ridgeons Premier Division side, who took the season just gone by storm, knocking Leeds United out of the FA Cup and reaching the Blue Square Premier play-offs, suffered an unpleasant ordeal at the season's start.
The sinister goings-on, in September, left the club shaken, with chairman Gareth Baldwin admitting it was “a terrifying time”.
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The intimidation included threatening phone calls, while club president Mr Peter Betson, had his car blown up outside a college at Cambridge University, where he worked.
The problems centred around Histon's game against lowly Lewes on September 23 and are now being investigated by Police.
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Within a minute of Lewes taking the lead in the game, a string of threatening calls began to be made to Histon club officials.
The caller said he knew about club officials' families and where their children went to school and there would be consequences should Histon not win. The Stutes got a 1-1 draw.
However it was early next morning that Mr Betson's car was blown up, while a female Histon official was called to say her home would be petrol-bombed.
Baldwin said: "It all got very nasty and it was a terrifying time for the club.”
A Cambridgeshire police spokesperson said: "I am able to confirm that threats were made on September 23 and that a car was set on fire outside a Cambridge University college the following day which is being treated as arson.
"The threats came from the Merseyside area and the investigation into the threats has been handed over to Merseyside Police."
Histon's match with Lewes is thought to be one of at least five games being probed by football and gambling authorities for suspect betting patterns.
The games under investigation for illicit betting, include Marine's 4-0 defeat at Matlock in the UniBond Premier League last month and Weymouth's 9-0 home defeat by Rushden in the Blue Square Premier in February, as well as Grays 2-1 win against Forest Green, where the Essex side came back to win after being a goal down at half-time.
