Sports fans have grown accustomed to watching the action played out in empty stadiums during the coronavirus pandemic.

Images of swathes of empty seats on television have made for strange viewing and it has been particularly surreal on matchday for the ball-boys and ball-girls up and down the country.

They have been the only ones privileged to watch from stands but instead of being part of a noisy crowd they have carried out their duties, often sat alone, against a backdrop of eerie silence.

Here, the PA news agency’s atmospheric images encapsulate the impact the fight against Covid-19 has had on our sporting lives.