FLEET Town have had official confirmation from the Dr Martens League that they have escaped the relegation trap door.

It's been a dreadful season for the north Hampshire club who, with one match to go, are seven points adrift at the foot of the Eastern Division table.

But Mick Catlin's side have earned their reprieve as a result of the non-League restructuring coming into play for 2004/5.

The knock-on effect of the new Conference 2, north and south, means that seven/eight teams are being promoted out of the Eastern and Western Divisions this season, leaving more gaps to fill from below.

But with several of the feeder league clubs either struggling to make the ground grading - like Wessex champions Winchester City - or failing to achieve a top-two finish, there are not enough teams to replace the likes of Fleet if they are relegated.

So the decision has been made by the FA's National League Systems Committee to scrap relegation from the Dr Martens, Ryman and UniBond Leagues.

The fate of the aspiring feeder league clubs should be known after leagues' joint-liaison meeting on May 9.

Fleet chairman Martin Griffiths received the glad tidings in a phone call from DML chairman Doug Gillard yesterday, prompting smiles all round at Calthorpe Park.

Club press officer Steve Cantle said: "We've had to stay patient sitting and waiting for this decision, but it's been worth it. This is the worst season we've had since I've been at Fleet, but we're keen to keep competing at Southern League level.

"We didn't want to go back to the Wessex League and the new restructured set-up will suit us very well.

"Hopefully we'll be seeing old friends again at Bashley and Newport IoW next season."

Although Winchester have been informed that their Denplan City Ground is not up to scratch, they are working frantically on fencing and clubhouse improvements in the hope of being re-inspected sometime next week. "We've not heard either way whether they'll come back," said director of football David Malone, "but we haven't given up hope."

If Winchester fail, there's a faint possibility of Gosport Borough, who finished third in the Wessex League, going up instead.

Their Privett Park headquarters got the thumbs up from the ground-graders, but chairman John Stimpson said: "We believe that if they're not relegating from above, it cuts down the possibility of us going up in third.

"But if we got a last-minute call, we'd definitely take it."