ACCRINGTON Stanley defender Tom Aldred has moved to Championship strugglers Blackpool for an undisclosed fee.

The 24 year-old joined the Tangerines on an emergency loan on Saturday morning, allowing him to take a place on the bench as an unused substitute for their 1-0 win over Brighton that afternoon.

That transfer has been made permanent with the former Watford man penning an 18-month contract at Bloomfield Road, where he is reunited with former Stanley coach Paul Stephenson.

The central defender joined Accrington in January 2013 on a free transfer following his release by Colchester United and went on to make 94 appearances for the Reds - 93 of them consecutively - scoring four times.

Aldred was left out of the matchday squad for the 1-0 home defeat to Bury last week, fuelling speculation of a move away from the Store First Stadium before leaving to join to the Seasiders at the weekend.

The defender was delighted with the switch, saying: "It's a good move for me. Obviously it's a big step up from where I have come from and I'm looking to prove myself."

Despite leaving Stanley, the former Carlisle and Inverness man believes he will look back upon his time in East Lancashire with great fondness.

"I had a good two-year spell at Accrington," he said. "It was a really successful spell for myself as a player and for my career and I think now is the right time to move on.

"As a defender, you need stability and lots of games to learn your trade. After having various loan moves earlier in my career I needed to stabilise and I did that at Accrington for two years. I played a lot of games and it has done me the world of good.

"I was fortunate with suspensions and injuries - they didn't happen for me and I got a lot of games under my belt. After getting my first appearance I didn't look back."