Sports reporter Roy Webster is finally back on home ground after a ban which had forced him to cover football matches from the top of a ladder for eight months was lifted.

Roy writes match reports on Ridgeons League Premier Division side Wroxham Football Club for the Evening News in Norwich and the Pink ‘Un.

He had been banned from the club’s Trafford Park ground after upsetting the club with the tone of his match reports.

But following a meeting between Roy (pictured) and club officials this week, the ban has now been lifted.

Roy, (72), said: “I think the decision by Wroxham to lift the ban is a triumph for common sense and for the freedom of the press.

“I’m delighted to be back in the ground again amongst my friends and the other fans.”

For the past eight months Roy, who has reported on the club’s matches since 1976, has covered Wroxham’s matches from the top of scaffolding in a friend’s garden next to the club’s ground.

Following the start of the ban the Evening News highlighted the reporter’s plight in its news pages every day — and vowed to continue to do so until he was readmitted into the ground.

Now Roy plans to dismantle his makeshift scaffolding structure.

He said: “I have been lucky in that it was a mild winter and I didn’t have to suffer the Siberian winds for more than a couple of days.

“I had a pair of sexy long johns that my kids bought me and they kept me warm. I won’t miss being stuck up there — I’m looking forward to enjoying the banter inside the ground again.”

Kenny Cooke, a trustee of Wroxham Football Club, said: “After an amicable meeting with both parties it has been agreed that the ban be lifted on Roy Webster immediately.

“It goes without saying that the fans and club members will give Roy a warm welcome upon his return.

“We decided it had gone on long enough and we welcome him back.”

Evening News assistant editor Amanda Patterson said: “We are delighted Wroxham have finally seen sense and let Roy back in to report on the sport he loves.

“We were determined to uphold the principle of freedom of the press.”

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