A club secretary has been dismissed following allegations of financial irregularities.

Members of Prestwich Liberal Club have expressed their shock after being told Vic Brunt had been banned from the club for life.

The issue came to a head at the end of last year when committee members noticed a hole in the finances of the club located on Bury New Road, at the junction with Chester Street.

Members have told The Guide that the committee called in an outside bookkeeper to scrutinise the accounts.

Shortly afterwards, Mr Brunt was dismissed as the club’s secretary and banned from the club for life, and a notice was put up on the club’s noticeboard.

Further details were given at the club's annual general meeting (AGM) on February 9.

A member, who asked not to be identified, said: "People knew from the noticeboard that something had happened.

"The notice read that Vic had been banned for life from the club with immediate effect.”

He said that, at the AGM, the committee claimed the allegations related to subscription fees over a four-year period.

He added: "The committee wanted to keep it private.

"The feeling was that if they went to the police, they might not be able to get their money back."

Mr Brunt was unavailable for comment, after The Guide made attempts to contact him.

The club opened in 1879 and has about 600 members, who pay an annual subscription, plus subs if they are on the club’s sporting teams.

Another member, who attended the AGM, said: "I feel sorry for the committee because they have done nothing wrong and this whole mess has been thrust upon them, but it is scandalous that they have kept the matter private.

" I am shocked at what has happened. There is a duty for them to go to the police.”

Councillor Michael James, who is a member of the club. He said: "There was a poster put up on the noticeboard a while ago which made reference to the situation.

"Vic has done so much to promote the club over the last few years and so it came as a shock to the members."

A club spokesman said: "A thorough and confidential internal investigation was undertaken to establish the facts given the seriousness and sensitivity of the situation.

"As a result of the investigation, the full facts were presented to the elected Liberal Club Committee in an honest and transparent manner.

"The committee agreed on a course of action, and the outcome was communicated to the membership via the club’s noticeboard.

"The committee is democratically elected to represent the interests of the members and were all re-elected at the recent AGM for a further term.

"All members have a right to request information at any time and there is further opportunity at the AGM for a notice of motion to be read.

"Only one member availed themselves of the above facility on this specific issue and his request was processed accordingly."

A club committee member rejected claims from one member that the matter had been kept under wraps before the AGM.

"When the notice went up, news spread like wildfire," said the committee member.

He added: "It's been a very trying situation for the committee, who have dealt with it in the best possible way. It's a private club and we have the right to keep things private."