9:10am Friday 19th March 2010
By Tom Parkes
A CARPENTER says he has no sympathy for homeless Wivenhoe Town FC because the football club still owes him for work he did for them two years ago.
The club, nicknamed the Dragons, have been locked out of their Broad Lane ground because the trust which manages it says it is owed £10,000 in rent.
Supporters of the Ridgeons League side claim the trustees are being unreasonable and using the financial dispute as an excuse to get the club off the site.
But Dedham joiner Mark Sycamore is sympathetic to Wivenhoe and District Sporting Facilities Trust’s claims it is owed money.
He says the club still owe him £100 for repair work and changing the locks in an office at the ground, following a burglary in August 2008.
Mr Sycamore, of AB Carpentry, which specialises in repair work following break-ins, said: “I can relate to what the trust is doing.
“I’m still waiting to be paid by the club, despite having sent many letters and had no reply.
“They wouldn’t run out of Tesco without paying for their shopping, so they shouldn’t think they can get away with doing it to a carpenter or a sports trust.”
Nick Murphy-Whymark, from the club, said he had no knowledge of the unpaid bill because it dated from the time before the current management took over in the autumn of 2008.
He said: “If the guy wants to talk to the chairman, they might be able to work something out.
“At the time when our administration came in, we were getting volunteers to help cut the grass and paint the place and all sorts, because there was no money left.
“There were players who were owed thousands of pounds and it was just impossible to pay them, because of mistakes made before our time.”
Efforts to resolve the differences between the trust and the football club are continuing, with local councillors and North Essex MP Bernard Jenkin, the club’s patron, trying to help broker a deal.
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