Directors of Notts County have been threatened with criminal charges for putting money ahead of safety, according to a dossier. CHRIS BIRKLE reports.

A DOSSIER sent to Notts County by safety chiefs at the city council makes for alarming reading.

Not only does it state that the club's directors put money ahead of fans' safety, it also claims that a breach of safety regulations amounted to "a criminal offence".

The eight-page document condemns club owners Blenheim 1862 Ltd for selling cheaper tickets to home fans during this season's home match against Rotherham United.

It says the club realised this could tempt Rotherham fans to try to buy the cheaper tickets for the home fans' stand.

But the club still went ahead with the discount offer and merely warned its turnstyle staff to be on the lookout for fans with a red strip or Yorkshire accent.

Stewards were then instructed to escort away fans out of the home stands.

The letter, by Caraline Ryan, head of public protection for Nottingham City Council, says some of these Rotherham fans at the match on December 28 were escorted out by the side of the pitch, in front of Magpies fans which created a potential "flashpoint for violence".

This is said to have caused problems for police outside the ground.

It also took both turnstyle staff and stewards away from their normal jobs and, in effect, "created safety risks for economic gain".

The letter states: "The business decisions made by the chairman and the board of directors have lead to situations where the safety certificate has been contravened, the law broken, and safety of the public compromised.

"Had a fan lashed out at a steward during this process, it could have flared further violence between fans.

"In fact the club had created safety risks for economic gain.

"This is a direct contravention of the General Safety Certificate which requires that the holder of the certificate must take all necessary precautions for the reasonable safety of spectators.

"Breach of the Safety Certificate constitutes a criminal offence."

The letter, dated February 3, was addressed to former safety officer Peter Dennis, who has since fallen ill and stood down.

It also says there have been a number of "ongoing maintenance issues" at the ground and the club had failed to provide details of the safety work done or a timetable for when it would be finished.

Safety barriers were found to have corroded severely, but instead of replacing them, the club merely painted over the rust.

The problem with the barriers and a number of other structural issues have since been fixed.

But the letter says the club has still not provided a full list of the safety issues or a timetable for when they will be fixed.

It says: "If Notts County Football Club was adequately managing safety, it would be able to demonstrate, as a matter of course, that the defects identified by the maintenance reports required by the General Safety Certificate have been completed or programmed for completion within a reasonable time period.

"The council should not have to continually chase the club for assurance that the works have been completed."

The council has now asked the club to submit an assessment of structural defects, such as loose mortar, damaged seats and items falling from height. It should take four to six months to complete such works.

If the work is not completed, the club has been told it will face formal enforcement action.

This could include the directors and managers of the club facing criminal charges, the letter says.

It could also mean a "service of improvement, or prohibition notices or amendment to the terms of the Safety Certificate".

The report also says there is a problem with fans standing up in the Kop at Meadow Lane because the stand slopes too much with a gradient of 30 degrees.

Slopes in excess of 25 degrees are "potentially hazardous" and should be regarded as unsafe for persistent standing, according to the letter.

While there have been no reported incidents or injuries in relation to fans standing in the Kop, Ms Ryan says the club needs to enforce the rules and make sure people sit down. The letter says the club needs to respond to the council by March 1 saying how it plans to sort out the business decisions which have affected spectator safety.

It then needs to devise a "persistent standing policy" by April 1 and a copy of the holding capacity for the ground by May 1. The club's General Safety Certificate is up for review in July, 2009.

Chairman John Armstrong-Holmes said: "The Ground Safety Authority have been supplied with all the information they wanted and action taken to deal with the issued raised.

"Some matters still need to be discussed, mainly to do with supporters standing in the rear of The Kop, and dates have been agreed for a meeting.

"The are no major issues.

"The majority were dealt with satisfactorily prior to us receiving the letter."

chris.birkle@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk