MULTI-MILLIONAIRE football chairman George Reynolds was back in court to appeal against a huge legal bill yesterday - and found himself £500 worse off.

The Darlington FC chairman was hit with a £50,000 legal bill in January when he lost his high-profile lawsuit against Cleveland Police, at Teesside Crown Court.

Representing himself, he sued the force's Chief Constable, Barry Shaw, for alleged wrongful arrest, unlawful detention and malicious prosecution.

Yesterday, Mr Reynolds was back in court calling for the legal bill to be reduced.

Mr Reynolds, 64, representing himself, submitted an eight-page document to the court outlining points of dispute over individual charges.

When asked to justify them by Deputy District Judge Clive Heaton, he said: "It seems unfair that they ran the costs up against me, and I was not compensated once.

"I had to put a file together and they put two sheets out."

Mr Reynolds, who rose from humble beginnings to build a £250m kitchen worktops business, claimed that Aidan Marron, QC, who represented the chief constable, was unprepared for the case.

He argued that figures for the time taken and hourly rates of the defence team were exaggerated.

"I think they have over-egged the whole lot, from start to finish," he said.

Judge Heaton granted a £150 reduction in Mr Marron's fee - but the reduction in Mr Reynold's bill was more than offset by the £650 charged by yesterday's barrister Murray Heining - leaving Mr Reynolds £500 out of pocket.

Mr Heining said: "So far as a police service and the prosecution service are concerned, it's hard to imagine more serious allegations being made against them. The manning level described would not be an unusual state of affairs."

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Reynolds said he was unrepentant.