ILKLEY Town have been promoted to the West Yorkshire League Premier Division.

It means they will be playing at the the highest level in their history.

They were granted a place in the top flight when the ground of Division One champions Stanley United failed to meet the required standards.

Town, who finished fourth and won the Wharfedale & District FA Cup for the third time in four seasons, learned the news at Monday's annual meeting of the West Yorkshire League.

Club chairman Richard Giles is delighted. He said: "The West Yorkshire Premier League is the highest level of amateur football in Yorkshire.

"As a club we are delighted that our first team have achieved this level, and it's the result of the commitment and hard work of the management team and players.

"This is an exciting time for all sections of Ilkley Town AFC, with a lot of work going on behind the scenes.

"We are working on building a full size 3G pitch in Ilkley next season which will benefit all of our 30 teams covering players from age six to veterans.

"We have a clear vision to become a sustainable community club offering high-quality football opportunities. We have a strong management driving our project forward with promotion to the Premier Division another step on our journey".

Dave Houlston, who has now been involved with the first team for more than 15 years, has been instrumental in helping nurture the club's growth and will be an essential part of the coaching team for the club's biggest challenge to date.

Town's players return to training for the new season on Monday at the Ilkley Grammar School grass pitches at Ben Rhydding Sports Club at 7pm.