Ice hockey referees typically wear black and white striped shirts, with black trousers

Ever had that dream where you forget to put your trousers on before heading to school or work?

It was not quite that bad for ice hockey referee Richard Belfitt, but he left his officiating trousers at home, leading to Sunday's National League game between Peterborough Phantoms and Telford Tigers being delayed.

Face-off eventually took place 15 minutes late after he dashed off to get some appropriate bottoms, but not before some gentle mickey-taking from the crowd and on social media.

"We all saw the lighter side of it," Phantoms defenceman Tom Norton told BBC Sport.

"The funny thing is we were a bit late for our warm-up and had been threatened with a penalty from the officials if we weren't off the ice in time.

"As annoying as it was for us, having done our warm-up and been ready to go, these things happen and it's a bit of comedy really."

Ice hockey officials need special black trousers with padding, as a puck can travel at more than 100mph.

So even though Belfitt turned up in the wrong trousers, it was only fair that he was spared the embarrassment of having to grab a pair from the lost property bin.

League leaders Telford eventually won the match 8-6, Peterborough's third successive defeat.