A GRANDDAD has complained he is now too young for a Bradford Bulls concession ticket due to changes made by the club.

Geoff Bentley, who is 63, paid £135 for his early bird concession ticket last season but for this season the cost has soared to £230 after the concession age was raised by the Bulls from 60 to 65.

The club said the change was made to fall into line with the Rugby Football League's concessionary bracket.

But Mr Bentley, who travels from North Yorkshire, to watch home games said the price rise coupled with the club playing in a lower league because of relegation was hard to bear.

"I travel all the way from my home in Masham to get to home matches - it's about 100 mile round trip which caps it all," he said.

"I'm paying more now for my concession ticket than I was to watch them when they were in the Super League - now they are in the second division and it's costing me heavy."

He added: "I will be able to manage but I'm still miffed, it's a bit of cheek. No-one got in touch to tell me, I only found out when I rang to buy the ticket and when I asked the lad why it had gone up he didn't seem to have an answer. There isn't an explanation anywhere.

"There will be a lot of people out there who won't be able to afford a ticket now and that's why I'm making the point, it's more for the sake of others than for myself.

"I understand why they won't be doing the early bird offers anymore because they were stupid from the start selling them so cheap just to get more people in to matches - it was never going to work and it played a part in their financial downfall but to put up the concession age by five years is taking too much of a liberty."

A Bradford Bulls spokesman said: "The decision to alter our concessionary pricing structure for the coming season was not taken lightly.

"It was designed to reflect changes to modern society and bring it into line with that of the sport's governing body - in order to simplify all communications to our supporters.

"The Rugby Football League has set its concessionary price bracket at 65 and over for all centrally-run events, including the Summer Bash, the Magic Weekend, the Challenge Cup final, the Grand Final and all international fixtures.

"We believe, by doing this, we are presenting our supporters with a clearer picture in terms of the purchasing of tickets for rugby-related events. As discussed in detail at the club's recent supporters event, the pricing structure and strategies for all the forthcoming campaign have been based on maintaining a sustainable Bradford Bulls, with the aim of avoiding the major problems faced over the past few years."

The Bull have also brought in two new age ranges for tickets which are for infants up to four years and young adults from 18 to 24.