FOOTBALL club Bedlington Terriers are being taken to court over thousands of pounds of unpaid debts, despite having a billionaire sponsor.

A winding-up order, the most serious action that can be taken against a company, was served on the club yesterday by Choppington-based Trystar Construction Ltd.

Bedlington Terriers are around £15,000 in debt to the firm, chairman Ronan Liddane told The Journal last night. The club will be forced to close if it is shown it cannot repay the money.

Bosses at the 64-year-old club said they are doing everything they can to keep afloat the team, who play in the Northern League.

Mr Liddane, who replaced David Holmes as chairman last year, said: “We are confident that the matter will be resolved and the club will continue with its main focus of playing football.

“Our legal team are now in negotiations.”

He added that he had no idea the club had outstanding debts when he took over as chairman.

The Terriers attracted international attention in 2010 when American billionaire Robert Rich became shirt sponsor for the team.

The aptly-named Mr Rich, the 488th wealthiest man in the world, took an interest in the side after tracing his family tree back to the region.

His wife also bought him the title of Lord Bedlington as a present.

He installed a £30,000 electronic scoreboard in the club’s Doctor Pit Welfare Park ground and paid for its pitch to be replanted, before taking the side on a short tour of the US in 2011.

The Terriers’ stateside trip was even the subject of a BBC documentary.

But Mr Rich will not step in with a handout for the club, Mr Liddane confirmed yesterday.

“Bob Rich is very supportive and sympathetic,” he said. “But he’s already told us this afternoon through his solicitors that he’s not going to get involved. He’s very neutral. It’s his decision.”

Just last month, Mr Liddane reminded fans that while Mr Rich was involved with the club, he was not a benefactor.

“People think we just have to ring Bob and say, ‘Listen, we need ‘X’ amount for whatever’, and he will write the cheque,” Mr Liddane said.

“That is not the case.”

Trystar Construction’s petition will be heard at a court in Newcastle later this month

Ritchie Wharton, a director of Trystar Construction Ltd, played for and later sponsored Ashington Rugby Football Club.