A LEADING Doncaster sports club has suspended its treasurer after financial discrepancies were uncovered.
Members of Doncaster Lawn Tennis Club who attended its annual general meeting were shocked to be told David Rainey had been using club money for ‘his own purposes’.
The 58-year-old businessman confirmed he has been suspended - and told The Star: “I think my time at the club is now over.”
He has repaid more than £40,000 said to have gone missing from the Saxton Avenue club in Bessacarr, which has 12 courts and is the biggest tennis club in the borough.
One of the 350 members, who declined to be named, said DLTC needed money to spend on improving courts and facilities and members were upset.
There were said to be ‘gasps of amazement’ from the audience at the club’s annual general meeting when chairman Tony Exley announced financial irregularities.
The club says it is carrying out its own investigation, and so far there is no police involvement.
Mr Rainey, of Bahram Road, Bessacarr, has been a club stalwart for 40 years and treasurer for several years.
His parents, and wife, Neena, have also been enthusiastic players at the club over a long period.
As recently as last September Mr Rainey told the club committee they were looking at a ‘break even’ figure for 2012 accounts.
But at the same time it was revealed the club was faced with reduced income from bar sales, floodlight hire, court bookings and fewer members, while looking at the cost of replacing a sprinkler system and re-surfacing the courts.
Club chairman Mr Exley said: “It was announced to members at the AGM in December that treasurer David Rainey had been found to have been using club monies for his own purposes over the last few years.
“The money, approximately £40,000, has now been repaid.
“As investigations are still ongoing we cannot make any further comment at this time, apart from to confirm that Mr Rainey, who held the post for a number of years, is no longer treasurer and has since been suspended from the club.”
Mr Rainey told The Star: “It is correct I have been suspended and it is correct that £40,000 has been repaid, with interest.
“I’ve said what has happened and that is all I want to say. I think my time at the club is now over.”
Mr Rainey’s wife was previously married to another club member, Andrew McDougall, 55, who hit the headlines last summer when he suffered a cut leg while acting as a line judge at a Queen’s Club tournament.
Argentinian tennis player David Nalbandian kicked an advertising board into him on live TV during the Aegon Championships and was later fined £8,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Mr McDougall declined to make any comment on the allegations about Mr Rainey.
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