GRAYS Athletic have announced that their home ground next season will be Mill Field - the home of Aveley Football Club.

Following a meeting on Friday evening, the two clubs will share the Mill Road ground in Aveley for the forthcoming Ryman Premier League season.

The move marks a return to Thurrock for Blues who had spent the last year playing their home games at Rush Green in Romford.

They had been acting as tenants to owners West Ham, but it has been been confirmed by Grays Athletic that to ensure they have a place in the Ryman Premier League next season, the club will play at Millfield.

The club had also considered a ground-share with Billericay FC, but decided playing in Thurrock would be better for fans and players.

Grays had been forced to look for a new home after Premier League West Ham revealed plans to make more use of the Rush Green facility for their youth teams.

Hakan Heyrettin's side had made Rush Green their home after the club and its fans invested a sizeable sum in sprucing the ground up in time for what proved to be a title-winning season.

A senior source at Grays Athletic, involved in negotiations, said: "We would like to thank Billericay for their kind offer, but having discussed and given it some thought, we have decided to play our home games at Aveley for geographical reasons. We thank them for all their help and support."