Tottenham Hotspur lawyers order non-league side Fleet Spurs to redesign their club crest

Tottenham Hotspur have been accused of being “heavy-handed” after ordering non-league club Fleet Spurs to change their club badge.

Whose cock-up? Tottenham's cockerel (left) looks a lot like the one on Fleet Spurs' club crest  

Spurs have instructed non-league club Fleet Spurs to find a new crest as it is too similar to their own, in a move that could cost the Wessex League Division One club up to £4,000.

Fleet Spurs were set up in 1948 and have no affiliation with the Premier League club but the cockerel included in their design was deemed a threat to Spurs’s identity.

Lawyers wrote to the Hampshire club and although Tottenham have allowed them to retain the design until it is next replaced, chairman Bryan Sheppard admits they had no option but to agree.

“We haven’t got a penny to our name, we couldn’t afford to fight it,” he said. “It’s been quite

stressful, we just felt really intimidated by the heavy-handed approach. But I can see where they are coming from.”

Sheppard has confirmed that supporters will be invited to help design the new badge in a competition.