Braintree's MP has promised to do all he can to help ensure the future of Braintree Town Football Club.

Fans of the club met Braintree MP James Cleverly on Friday and handed him a petition signed by more than 4,000 football fans from across the country.

The petition, started by supporter Dan Cook, calls for Braintree Council to work with the club to help it find a new home and save it from folding.

Mr Cleverly said he was in no position to give fans assurances, but would help in any way he could.

He said: “I am happy to formally accept the petition from the club and its supporters. I will make sure that the powers that be are aware of the strength of feeling around the issue.

“Football has a particular place in our national psyche and in a community.

“I always want to see Braintree Town at the heart of the community doing what it has done for so many years.

“I will feedback the points that have been made and I will continue to work with fans and with the council to find something that sees the club not just survive but thrive.”

Despite admitting that he was a “rugby man” himself, Mr Cleverly told fans that one of his sons had “fallen in love with The Iron” and regularly wore the club’s shirt with pride.

He will take the petition to the House of Commons on behalf of fans.

Earlier this year, Braintree Town chairman Lee Harding spoke of his fears for the future of the club if local plan proposals go ahead.

The site of the club’s training facilities has been allocated for housing in the plan, a move that could leave the club without access to the away section of stadium on match days, without any car park facilities or able to use the training facilities.

Mr Harding feels this could spell the end for the club as early as 2022, with the site expected to accommodate sixty homes over the next five years.

Mr Cook, who has followed the club since he was ten-years-old, said that the club had been fantastic for him personally over the years.

He said: “It is nice to see everybody that cares about the club and 4,000 people have signed the petition.

“I have seen the good times and the bad times and at the moment every supporter is a bit worried about the future.”