THERE has been plenty of activity at the Ray Mac as the transfer window draws to a close.

Salisbury City have made the loan signing of Andy Sandell a permanent one, have taken Stevenage Borough's Luke Oliver on loan and have allowed Craig Richards to go out on loan for one month.

Manager Nick Holmes said he is delighted to have captured Sandell from Bristol Rovers for a substantial undisclosed fee.

The player has certainly made his mark since joining the club on loan - scoring in two of his three of his Blue Square Premier appearances for the Whites.

Holmes admitted he had been an admirer of the player during his time with Bath City in Salisbury's Southern League Premier Division-winning campaign.

Sandell then left the Romans for the Pirates and made more than 30 league and cup appearances for them last term.

Holmes was alerted to the player's possible availability earlier this month and initially agreed a loan move with the Bristol club.

Sandell has signed a three-year deal with the club.

Oliver is a versatile player who joined City's Blue Square Premier rivals Stevenage Borough from Yeovil Town for £15,000. He has also played for Woking and began last season as Stevenage's skipper.

"He's a big centre-half who can also play centre-forward," added Holmes, who last week allowed City striker Paul Sales to move to former Conference South rivals Eastleigh.

"Luke was in Stevenage's FA Trophy final side and he'll be with us for three months.

"It's our first experience of the transfer window so we thought we'd best make these moves now," added the City boss.

Meanwhile, heading out of Old Sarum for the time being is Craig Richards, who Holmes signed during the summer, but has allowed to join Bognor Regis Town for a month.