HARD working flood relief teams working in Worcester are being given free tickets to this Saturday's premiership rugby clash between the Worcester Warriors and the Sale Sharks.

Warriors will give a total of 500 tickets to the emergency services, the armed forces and the environment and highways agencies who have all helped victims of the flooding in an effort to beat the bad weather.

Carol Hart, Warriors community foundation manager, said the club would also be donating £1 from every ticket sold to the Salvation Army – a charity which has been supporting people hit by the flooding across Worcestershire - and there would be collection buckets at the 2pm game at Sixways Stadium for fans to donate.

She said: "Many people in the city have been affected by the terrible flooding and the relief effort has been fantastic.

"We would like to thank the organisations which have been at the forefront of that relief effort by inviting them to the match.

"And we want to raise as much money as we can for the Salvation Army, who can support the victims who have been directly impacted.

"The city has pulled together in recent weeks and people I have spoken to are so proud of the compassion of everyone right across the county.”

And Warriors vice-captain, Chris Pennell, was delighted the club is supporting the city's relief efforts.

He said: "It will be great to see everyone at Sixways on Saturday as it has been a tough time for a lot of people.

"We'll be looking to put in a good performance and thank everyone who has helped the flood victims in recent weeks.”

Despite the extent of the flooding in Worcester City centre, Warriors' Sixways home and the roads leading up to the stadium have remained dry.

Pennell added: "We've been really fortunate at Sixways as the flooding hasn't come this far. So we're just trying to help as much as we can and thank everyone for their good work.”