ALMOST 7,000 fans were left frustrated on Sunday when Wasps' Guinness Premiership match with Sale Sharks at Adams Park was called off five minutes before kick-off.

Most supporters were already in their seats when the stadium announcer walked onto the field at 5.10pm to tell them the game was off because a section of pitch in the shadow of the Frank Adams Stand was frozen.

There is undersoil heating at Adams Park, but it takes 12 hours to take effect and had not been turned on because of the warm weather.

And last weekend was actually the warmest of the year, with Wycombe getting higher temperatures than Greece and Spain.

Saturday was the hottest day of the year at 13.2 degrees C (55 deg F), while Sunday peaked at 12.7 deg C.

The Met Office say Adams Park might have frozen as it is in a dip and could have been exposed to a cold sink affect'.

Wasps director of rugby Ian McGeechan said: "It's been like spring the last three or four days. I live ten minutes away and have been in shirt-sleeves so I wouldn't have anticipated this.

"Two hours ago the pitch was playable so nobody thought there would be an issue."

However, concerns were raised when players and officials went out for their pre-match warm-up and after consulting both teams referee David Pearson declared the pitch unsafe.

Pearson said: "We were out to do our warm-up 45 minutes before kick-off and one side of the pitch which had been in the sunshine was wet and sticky.

"But as we walked across halfway there was a change to very firm, icy and freezing.

"We took both captains and coaches to that side of the pitch and everyone decided that side wasn't 100 per cent safe. If someone was running and they were trying to stop, it would have been like Torvill and Dean."

A final decision was left as late as possible to give the conditions every chance of improving.

Wasps chief executive Tony Copsey said: "The only reason the game was kicking off at 5.15 was to allow fans to watch the England game beforehand.

"We could've kicked off earlier, but we wanted to give our supporters the chance to see the England game.

"And we felt we'd get a better crowd if we kicked off later.

"It's unfortunate and it's a very rough deal on all those fans who have come out."

Wasps are offering full refunds or the chance to trade tickets for the rearranged game, and the club will also incur substantial hospitality losses.

Copsey said: "It's not a good day at the office. It will cost us a serious sum of money."