SWINDON Town claim they have moved on from an incident which saw staff chased around the County Ground over a debt.

The incident was broadcast on Channel 5 show, Can’t Pay? We’ll Take it Away, on Wednesday evening.

Cameras followed bailiffs Brian O’Shaughnessy and Graham Aldred to the home of the Robins in the summer, as they looked to settle a £23,854.52 debt.

The bailiffs said that the money related to an unpaid bill for seating.

The footage showed the men being made to wait for a substantial amount of time before they chased a member of staff, who’d run away, through the corridors of the stadium.

They then spoke to members of staff, who were behind a locked door, and said goods would be seized unless somebody from the club spoke to them about the matter.

Graham said: “They are being evasive for the size of establishment that it is.”

A club delegate, who was heading to the airport to go on a trip to Portugal, had to be called back to the ground.

The man, who had his face blurred out on the programme, claimed that the debt had arisen because of the ongoing High Court case relating to the ownership of the club.

A deal was agreed during the bailiffs’ visit that £9,000 was paid on the day with the balance needing to be settled within 30 days.

Town kept to this agreement, it has since been confirmed.

A club spokesman said: “It was something which happened at the height of the court case and the issue has now been resolved.”

Lee Power was confirmed as Swindon Town’s right and proper owner by a High Court judge on July 1.

Gary Robinson, the managing director of Direct Collection Bailiffs, the firm which went to recover the debt, said: “The money was paid in full and it was sort of amicable in the end, when it was all sorted.

“The club was going through a change of ownership at the time and the debt had come about when they were between chairmen. I don’t think the new or the old chairman knew who should be clearing it.”

Had the debt not been settled, or a large proportion of it paid on the day, the bailiffs, empowered by the High Court, would have been within their rights to seize property from the club.

Gary said this was the first time his firm had had dealings with the club, but his nationwide team of agents dealt with football clubs a couple of times every month.


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