With the title mathematically secured at Llanfairpwll with two matches remaining, Prestatyn finished up 15 points clear of runners up Bala Town (the only team to beat them twice) and the race was on to get Bastion Road ready for Welsh Premier football.

What followed was a true footballing fairytale. The club had submitted an application for floodlights, an extension to the stand, new seating, a turnstile block and treatment room to Denbighshire County Council in mid-February and the application was due to be heard on March 15th. However, disaster struck when the council asked for further information from the club and deferred the March date until the next meeting on April 23rd.

This was a hammer blow for Prestatyn, if the application was approved it gave the club just eight days to do all the work before the Welsh Premier`s May 1st deadline, if it was refused, there was no time to appeal and the club committee would have had no option other than to tell the WPL they would not be accepting promotion.

As it was, despite some serious opposition from local residents, the application sailed through by an amazing 25 votes to nil and what happened next was previously unheard of in Welsh football.

The April 23rd planning meeting began in Ruthin council chambers at 9.30am. Town`s application was early on the agenda and was approved by 10.05am. Chairman Tony Thackeray then phoned through to the ground where the floodlight contractors and a gang of club volunteers were standing by to begin work.

If the application had been refused a very disappointed band of people would have been going home but as it was they got stuck in and by 5pm that night, three pylons were in place, the base for the turnstiles was laid and blockwork had been erected for the additional seating.

Over the next week, work continued from dawn till dusk as people who had never previously laid a brick or mixed concrete in their lives became quick learners. By May 1st all the work had been completed and when WPL supremo John Deakin came to inspect the improvements, he could not hide his admiration for what had been a superhuman effort by a band of very dedicated people and recommended acceptance - the Seasiders were in!

The eargerly-awaited fixtures were kind to Town and their Welsh Premier debut was a home game with Airbus UK Broughton on Friday 15th August. The occasion captured the imagination of the whole town and although the attendance was given as just short of 450, it looked and sounded like there were considerably more in the revamped little stadium.

It was a night to remember as two goals from Ian Griffiths saw the Seasiders cruise to a 2-1 victory over the Wingmakers and wrote Griffo into the history books as the man who scored Prestatyn's first goal in the Welsh Premier League.

The rest of the season was split into two distinct halves - the first being a success with mid-table consolidation looking likely but the second saw a string of poor results plunge Town into a relegation battle. However, Neil Gibson rallied his troops and a 2-1 win at fellow strugglers Caersws in late March followed by a home win over Aberystwyth Town gave the Seasiders some light at the end of the tunnel.

Those six points were to prove ultimately crucial and on April 18th, safety was confirmed as Town drew 1-1 at Bangor City while Caersws were pipped 2-1 at home by Cefn Druids. The Bluebirds could no longer catch Prestatyn and it was they who would be back in the Cymru Alliance next season along with Caernarfon Town who had been rock bottom all season.

In the away attendance averages, Prestatyn were third with 368, proving either they were a big draw or had the third best away following in the league. Rhyl were first in this chart too on 428 with Bangor second with 418.

This success also rubbed off on the reserve side as, under the continued management of the experienced Mark Boulton who was ably assisted by John Price and Dave McSween, they notched their third successive Clwyd Premier League title with a 3-1 win at Greenfield on April 29 meaning nearest challengers Abergele Rovers could not catch the Seasiders on points. Ironically, Town's next opponents were Abergele themselves who gained consolation for making do with second place by thrashing Prestatyn 4-1 and taking away their unbeaten league record.