CREWE Alex supporters have pledged to meet their club's former players who were abused by Barry Bennell.

Supporter group The Railwaymen Supporters Society joined in the calls for long-serving Alex Chairman John Bowler to step down this week in the wake of the findings of the Sheldon review - a decision the 84-year-old announced he had made today.

The fans' group, who have a director representative sitting on the Alex board, have issued their sympathies to the survivors of the sexual abuse that was inflicted on them while they were young players at their club.

Members of the group were moved to act after fielding correspondence and social media messages from Alex supporters. The group says it contacted John Bowler to make their feelings known that he should step down.

The chairman issued a statement that he was bringing his long association with the club to a close. After joining as a director in 1980, the one-time pharmaceutical company chief executive took over the reins of chairman from Norman Rowlinson in 1987.

Discussions that involved him, the late Rowlinson and also another former director Hamilton Smith, who has maintained he raised serious concerns about Bennell in the 1980s, formed part of Clive Sheldon's probe.

The barrister examined whether Crewe could have exposed their former youth coach before he was eventually caught by U.S state police on a footballing tour with a junior club in 1994, two years after he left his employment at the Alex.

The QC reported the club could have done more at the time.

Now fans want to try to build bridges with Bennell's victims. Some are involved in the Offside Trust, the high-profile group set up to support those who have suffered sexual abuse in sport.

Former Alex midfielder Steve Walters is an ambassador for the organisation. Like another former player Andy Woodward - who by waiving his anonymity helped encourage more of those preyed upon by the paedophile to contact police after 2016 - Walters has delivered harsh words about Crewe's failure to address the issues in the past.

The Railwaymen Supporter Society states: "Our upmost sympathies are with all the Survivors for the pain that they have suffered and continue to suffer.

"Our board will now offer to meet with the Survivors of the Abuse to understand what steps we can take going forwards. We have already had contact with one of the Survivors and will look to meet with them shortly.

"We will continue to liaise with our members, the fans, the football club and the Survivors on this subject."

Meanwhile, Crewe and Nantwich MP Kieran Mullan believes John Bowler's resignation can pave a new path for the club and he hopes a relationship can be built with survivors of child sexual abuse.

"I welcome this announcement. I think it can be the start of the club charting a new course and I hope the start of a new relationship with survivors," said the MP.

"The club can't change what happened, nobody can. But it can take up the opportunity to be part of what happens next in a way its fans can be proud of and I hope they seize that opportunity."

The Offside Trust released a statement welcoming the move, although the group said it should have come sooner.

"We thought it might have been made in 2016. And again in 2018. For it not to have happened once the Sheldon report was published rubbed salt into the wounds of survivors. It has taken several days of pressure from survivors, journalists and, ultimately, the club's own supporters to force this resignation today," it said.

"This was the very least that should have been expected and hopefully it clears the path for a new chapter. The Offside Trust looks forward to a positive relationship with Crewe Alex in the future."

The Railwaymen Supporters Society is asking fans to contact them if they have any questions on [email protected]