The ban on press photographers attending games at Southampton Football Club appears to have been quietly dropped, it emerged yesterday.

The South Coast club sparked outrage in the media world last month after it refused to accredit any photographers except those from an approved picture agency which offered match photos for sale.

Regional papers which refused to buy the pics responded by finding alternative ways of illustrating matches including using pictures from the 1980s, cartoons and subbuteo figures.

However it is now understood that the club has agreed to lift the ban following intensive behind-the-scenes discussions.

HTFP understands that editors have been told that applications for photographic accreditation from national and regional papers will now be granted.

No official comment is being made either by the club, or by the Society of Editors which was spearheading attempts to resolve the issue.