THE away capacity at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough ground has been reduced ahead of the visit of Bolton Wanderers on Friday.

Sheffield City Council has confirmed that the number of seats which are allowed to be sold in the Upper and Lower West Stand has now been decreased from 4,700 to 3,700 as a result of a safety review.

Newcastle United supporters raised concerns of overcrowding in the Leppings Lane End of the ground following an FA Cup game in January.

It was the same end of the ground at which 97 Liverpool fans lost their lives after a crush in the 1989 FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

There were no reports of injury – but concerns over stewarding and fans being directed through the wrong turnstiles have led to the council, the club, the Sports Ground Safety Advisory Group taking the decision to reduce capacity immediately.

An article on BBC Sport noted that minutes of a meeting of the local Safety Advisory Group was posted on the Newcastle United website, confirming: "The Upper West Stand now has a further reduced capacity of 2,400 (down from 3,200 as a result of the recent review) for a stand with a holding capacity of 4,194".

"The Lower West Stand now has a further reduced capacity of 1,300 (down from 1,500 as a result of the recent review) for a stand with a holding capacity of 2,366.”

This means that the away end at Hillsborough, which has a holding capacity of 6,560 will now be limited to a maximum of 3,700 supporters, which represents just 56 per cent of its potential capacity.

As of Monday afternoon Wanderers had sold just over 2,500 away tickets for Friday night’s game and it is thought unlikely that they will reach the- reduced limit.