Carlisle United have slashed ticket prices for their first game of the new season.

The Blues have reduced entry to £10 for adults and £5 for those 18 and under for their League Two clash with Colchester at Brunton Park.

It is part of the Cumbrians' bid to attract a bumper crowd to the stadium as they welcome fans back after the Covid-19 lockout.

The August 7 fixture will be the first league game open to all fans since the start of the pandemic.

As well as welcoming supporters back, United are also planning a parade of "local heroes", who went above and beyond during the Covid lockdowns.

The club say the reduced prices are a thank-you to fans for their patience and support during the difficult recent times.

Chief executive Nigel Clibbens said: “I’ve said a number of times over the past 18 months that our fans have been magnificent.

“They followed us in great numbers on iFollow, supported us in other ways financially by not asking for refunds and by purchasing from the Blues Store, for example, and we’ve spoken for a long time about the need for us to say thank you to them for all of that.

“With our first competitive game with no restrictions being at home, we want to make it special. We’ve missed you and I know our fans have missed being here with us.

“We feel this is the ideal opportunity to celebrate. That’s why we’ve cut the entry prices and why we want to make it a special event.

“We want as many people as possible to be able to take another step towards normality by coming to the stadium and cheering on their team."

United are stepping up their plans for the Augst 7 curtain-raiser after the recent Government announcement that full crowds would be permitted to return to grounds next season.

Clibbens and finance director Suzanne Kidd said they wanted it to be a day both of celebration and gratitude to the local community.

“We want to welcome everybody back, we want to see our community spirit shining through and we want to say thank you to everybody who supports this club by making the return to their spiritual home a really uplifting experience," Kidd said.

United are also asking fans to wear their club colours and create a "sea of blue and white".

The club plan to announce more initiatives surrounding the game soon.

The reduced ticket prices apply for seating and terracing areas of Brunton Park.

Kidd added: “Low prices for this game will bring even more people to see us, and we know our season ticket holders will understand and support us in what we’re trying to achieve."