Darlington Football Club chairman George Reynolds banned a group of fans from his stadium yesterday and issued a warning to critics.

"Let no one be in any doubt that detractors can expect confrontation, either at the ground or home," he said in a statement sent to The Northern Echo and posted on the club's official website.

Police have previously been called in to investigate a number of incidents in which Mr Reynolds has visited the homes of people he considers to be his critics.

Acting Inspector Graham Charman, of Darlington police, said last night: "I am unsure what Mr Reynolds meant by that comment.

"It would be wrong to jump to the conclusion that he will do something serious at these people's houses or at the ground. It may be a throwaway remark or he may have plans to do something.

"I don't think it is a good idea to confront anyone at their own homes or going about their lawful business. It should be dealt with through the police."

Last night, the Darlington Supporters' Trust described the threat to confront critics at their homes as a "very unfortunate development".

The latest bans follow Mr Reynolds' decision to withdraw a season ticket from Scott Thornberry, editor of a supporters' website which Mr Reynolds accuses of waging a campaign against him and his family.

Supporters of Mr Thornberry, who ran the Darlo Uncovered website, protested about the ban during Quakers' 2-1 home win against Doncaster on Saturday.

The trust, which has more than 200 members, has launched a petition calling on the club to overturn the decision. But Mr Thornberry, who is now giving up running the website, has posted a farewell statement in which he asks for an end to petitions of support for him and to chants at matches.

Darlington FC's statement yesterday said: "The chairman and directors reiterate without reservation that the decision to ban Scott Thornberry from the club stands and will not be rescinded."

The statement alleged that the website and a "very small minority" of fans had waged a malicious campaign against Mr Reynolds and his family, which created "a climate of hate".

He called on the trust to review its position urgently, saying the campaign had resulted in abuse of him, his wife and his children.

According to the statement, "vile and potentially libellous allegations and innuendo" were directed against the chairman's wife, Susan Reynolds, on the website.

It adds: "The activity on the website did not stop there. They were responsible for creating a climate of hate which influenced some of their unsavoury readers to direct physical and verbal abuse against the chairman's daughters."

The statement says one of his daughters, Victoria, was physically attacked and almost glassed. His other daughter, Alex, was also abused, and his son, Paul, suffered a broken nose when he was head-butted by alleged Darlington supporters.

The statement continues: "Darlington Football Club has come a long way since those dark days in 1999. We are financially viable with no debt.

"We have a stadium which is the envy of the football industry, and as recent events prove, the team is coming together on the field."

The Northern Echo understands that five or six fans have received letters banning them from the stadium.

These include Craig Stoddart, who is employed in the sports department of The Northern Echo and who, the club complains, was involved in the protest on Saturday.

Tony Taylor, a board member of the supporters' trust, said: "We would ask Mr Reynolds to read very carefully our statement in which we made it expressly clear that we do not condone abusive comments made on the website.

"But we ask the club to take a reasoned attitude to this situation, which we feel has been exaggerated, and we would like to see those supporters back in their seats as quickly as possible.

"We are a little concerned that we have an unprecedented situation where we have a chairman of a football club threatening on his own official website to confront critics among the club's fan base at their own homes.

"We regard this as a very unfortunate development."

In his farewell website message, Mr Thornberry says: "Those that know me, and visitors to the website will know that I have always promoted the club and have never been a 'Reynolds Out' campaigner.

"It seems that people are trying to make me a figurehead for their campaigns, but I do not wish to be. Some allegations have been made which are completely false.

"I truly hope that Darlington Football Club is successful in the future and the team set-up we have at the moment looks promising.

"Even after all of the recent events, I wish George Reynolds all the luck in the future and sincerely hope that he makes the Quakers a success."