BOSSES at legendary football club Accrington Stanley have accused Hyndburn Council of failing to support the team which helped put the town on the world map.

The Reds claim they have fought a two-year red tape battle with the council in a bid to get cash to repair an access road to their Crown Ground.

The club claims that under the terms of its lease, the council should pay half towards the cost of resurfacing the 200-yard roadway between the ground and Livingstone Road. But after two years of frustration, the club said it decided to go ahead with the £10,000 plan on its own because the council failed to reply to its requests for financial backing.

Club chairman Eric Whalley said: "Accrington Stanley is famous all over the world and it is the last remaining thing this town is known for. The Nori brickworks are gone and so are most of the large firms which made Accrington famous."

Club commercial director John Demaine said: "This football club is helping to keep Accrington on the world map. Other non-league teams get thousands of pounds from their local councils. But Hyndburn Council don't give us any help - they just keep putting our bills up."

Mr Demaine said he had discussed council funding for the roadway project with council chief executive Mike Chambers two years ago. The club was told the council did not have enough cash at the time. Mr Demaine said he had since written to the chief executive's office twice regarding the matter but had received no reply. Mr Whalley said a succession of rates and rent rises imposed by the council were making things difficult for the club.

He added: "In our lease it says in black and white that the council should pay 50 per cent towards works like this. But we spent two years trying to get the money and didn't seem to get anywhere. In the end we built it ourselves."

Over the last four years directors have invested £250,000 in improvements to the ground including a new shop and offices.

A spokesman for Hyndburn Council confirmed there was a joint maintenance agreement between the council and the football team. The spokesman said: "We have had no correspondence recently from the club but if they would like to contact us directly we can investigate the issue."

Despite its position at the foot of the UniBond Premier League table, Accrington Stanley still receives fan mail from supporters worldwide.

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