AN American football match was abandoned and ambulance staff had to treat players with hypothermia as a freak cold snap gripped Bucks at the weekend.

Rain, sleet and snow combined with 30-miles-per-hour winds from the Arctic to send temperatures diving below zero on Sunday afternoon.

Bucks New University’s American football team were among those caught cold and their match with Reading Knights had to be abandoned at half time with the health of players at risk.

BNU Buccaneers coach Ben Watson said: “Players were unable to talk. Even in huddles they couldn’t stop shivering.

“It felt lower than zero by a fair margin. A big part of that was the wind chill factor and if your kit is soaked through in those frigid temperatures it can be nasty.

“Our worst case was Danny Wallace. Even when he was in the clubhouse at half time and surrounded by players he couldn’t speak or stop shivering.

“He had to go and sit in the ambulance for a bit and seemed to recover there, but we were worried about him.”

Local temperatures of 3°C at Farnham Royal Rugby Club, where the game was played, may not sound particularly threatening, but with gusts of 26 knots blowing the snow/sleet across the pitch, the conditions soon became dangerous.

Nearby ambulance staff were called to assist the players with foil blankets, and at least one Reading player was diagnosed with hypothermia while a couple of others also went to hospital.

Knights head coach Chris Hartley said: “Forfeiting the game at half time was the hardest thing I’ve had to do as the Knights head coach.

“With four of my players showing early signs of hypothermia and the rest of them all suffering badly due to the cold it was the only option I had.

“I feel terrible for robbing my seniors and the BNU seniors of their last half of football but I had to place the safety of my players first.”

The Buccaneers were winning 48-0 at that stage but Watson insisted the game would have been abandoned no matter what the score.

He said: “I’ve never seen a game called off because of the cold before, but there is a first for everything. It was more to do with the freak weather conditions than the score.”