AN investigation by the Post has revealed that some members of a city sports club may have received preferential treatment in the allocation of council houses.

Certain members of the club, which the Post has decided not to name at this stage, had links with the housing service at Nottingham City Council.

Using leaked housing records and requests under the Freedom of Information Act, the Post has identified eight players and their families who received offers for a total of 18 properties during two-and-a-half years from late 2002 to 2005.

The Audit Commission later found widespread abuse of housing allocations in Nottingham during this time.

The Post launched its own investigation after it emerged that Notts Police had decided not to investigate the misallocation of properties, and the council's inquiries resulted in only one written warning being issued.

Documents obtained by the Post reveal:

Some housing managers and officers, who were members of the sports club, were directly involved in the allocation of properties to other club members and their families.

Housing staff pushed club members up the queue for a home when they were on the "low need" list.

Offers for 15 homes made to club members manually bypassed the normal points system for allocating houses. Ten homes were let in the cases we examined.

Three homes were bought at a discount under the right-to-buy scheme. Two have since been rented out.

Today's revelations are the first in a series of special reports on the misallocation of city council houses.