HEREFORD FC have signed Bristol City defender Harvey Smith on an initial one month loan.

The Bulls have been short of a centre-half in recent weeks and Pete Beadle has brought the former City under-18 captain.

He is available for tomorrow’s visit of Cardiff City to Edgar Street.

“Harvey is a centre-half who had a very successful spell at Weston last year, so we know that he can handle this level of football,” manager Beadle told the official Hereford FC website.

“He can be that good old-fashioned centre-half, but he’ll also look to play the ball well when needed.

Fellow Bristol City youngster Cameron Pring was on loan with Hereford during last season’s title winning campaign.

Beadle added: “Cameron did really well with us last term, and this summer he has been involved in the Bristol City first team and travelled with them on their pre-season tour of Spain.

“I’m sure that Harvey will be looking to be as successful as Cameron was, it’s great for us to keep that relationship going with Bristol.” Beadle continued.

“It’s a relationship that is beneficial to everyone involved. We get the chance to bring in a quality defender and Bristol get to send out their youngsters to get some taste of first-team competitive football.

“Bristol know that we look after the players and provide a good environment for them to develop; we can offer them the chance to play regular, competitive football in front of a relatively big crowd, with all the pressures that goes with that, so it’s a great way for those players to learn.”