AN ex-Darlington Football Club manager and player has spoken about his time while he worked with the late George Reynolds when he was chairman.

Former Darlington FC chairman George Reynolds died on Tuesday (April 13).

The flamboyant businessman will be remembered for his time with Darlington FC and brushes with the law over the years.

Mr Reynolds, who was in his 80s, last appeared in the news in March when he was given a 12-month conditional discharge for breaching a restraining order.

Gary Bennett worked with Mr Reynolds for three years, whilst he was manager for the club.

He said: "George was a character. George Reynolds was George Reynolds. He was what he was. Obviously, for some people he wasn't their cup of tea, but others did get on with him. He was a colourful character.

"He was one of those who speaks his mind and sometimes went against the grain.

"I had hundreds of stories with George - meeting him himself. He was out to buy a car and ended up with a football club.

"As a black manager, especially at the time, there wasn't many black managers around, I was grateful to him.

"In 2002 he offered me the opportunity to manage Darlington Football Club in the league, which was a fantastic opportunity.

"I always got on with George. I went to see him in the last couple of weeks when I found out he wasn't well. I spoke to him on the phone when he was taken to hospital - he was in the process of trying to build log cabins and was in a battle with the council over that.

Mr Bennett, who also spent several seasons playing for Sunderland, is now a commentator for Radio BBC Newcastle and owns a coaching company called Back2Basics, which delivers coaching sessions, team sessions and one-to-one sessions.

Mr Bennett coaches with Julio Arca, Kieron Brady and Dean Gordon all ex-professional football players.

He also works in schools and for the University of Sunderland coaching football teams.

Mr Bennett is also an ambassador for St Benedict's Hospice in Sunderland who provide palliative care for people with cancer and other diseases.

Mr Reynolds had a remarkable career in which he rose from humble roots in Sunderland to own a multi-million chipboard business in Shildon and be ranked 112th in the Sunday Times rich list with a fortune of £250m.