A GOLF professional has paid a £9,000 debt after being threatened with bailiffs in a bitter fall-out at a council-owned golf course.

Alan Hartley, who ran the clubhouse, driving range and golf academy at the Roseberry Grange Golf Course, near Chester-le-Street, withdrew from his contract with Chester-le-Street District Council, making ten staff redundant, after he was given an ultimatum just over a week ago by the council to pay back a £9,000 debt or relinquish his lease.

Mr Hartley, 44, from Garden Farm, Chester-le-Street claims he invested about £70,000 of his own money into the business during the years he ran it.

He has now repaid the council debt after his parents-in-law put the money forward.

He said: "It's awful to think they've had to do that. I haven't been offered my job back that's for sure, but I couldn't possibly go back and put myself through all that again. So I'm now squeaky clean and out of a job."

Mr Hartley claims that when he took over the business from the council four years ago he increased the takings at the driving range from £16,000 to £45,000 in a year and increased bar profits from £35,000 to £130,000. But during the past two years he got into financial difficulties due to a combination of bad weather and the foot-and-mouth crisis.

North Durham MP Kevan Jones has written several letters to the council, asking why Mr Hartley has been forced out and claims the answers he has received so far have been 'unsatisfactory.'

A spokeswoman for the council said they are now re-employing Mr Hartley's staff.

She said: "Following our action to recover council property, Mr Hartley offered to pay the arrears and terminate his contract providing we withdrew the bailiffs, waived the bailiff fees and waived the rent for April."

The council has already re-employed bar, catering and cleaning staff that Mr Hartley had employed and said it is waiting for a list of the remainder of the staff from Mr Hartley so they can be re-hired.

The spokeswoman said they have also contacted another golf professional, who has not been named, to tutor a trainee professional golfer at the academy through the last six months of his training. The council is also in talks about using the existing trainee professional to work with the academy.