BEING a creditor of club in crisis Ipswich Town is painful to his pocket but Martin Fenn will survive it."But I will not work for Ipswich Town again," said the owner of Martin Fenn Tarpaulins who will see the biggest part of the £5,160 the club owes him wiped out at next month's creditors' meeting.

BEING a creditor of club in crisis Ipswich Town is painful to his pocket but Martin Fenn will survive it.

"But I will not work for Ipswich Town again," said the owner of Martin Fenn Tarpaulins who will see the biggest part of the £5,160 the club owes him wiped out at next month's creditors' meeting.

"I would have been happy to wait five years for the whole of my money but I've not been given the chance to say that. Five pence is an insult a slap in the face to people like me," Mr Fenn added.

He said that as he is not a limited company this debt will be coming out of his pocket.

"My employees will continue to be paid and keep their jobs.

"This money I am owed is money that I will go without, me personally.

"All unsecured creditors should band together and let Ipswich Town know how angry we feel. It won't make a bit of difference to the creditors' meeting vote but at least the club will know that we are not taking our five pence in the pound quietly," he added.

Mr Fenn said his decision not to repair any more tarpaulins at the Town ground came after much thought and was based on several factors.

On January 17 the club owed him £3,102 for pitch cover maintenance he carried out on November 20 and November 26, 2002.

"Time passed and I had not been paid so when I contacted Ipswich Town I was told the invoice amount would be paid in to my bank by January 17. It did not appear in my account," said Mr Fenn.

"When I again contacted the club they told me there had been a mistake, I should not have been told that date.

"I was then asked to repair a major rip on the cover on January 22, which I did but they still hadn't paid me when on February 13 – three days after the administrators were called in – I was asked to do more work.

"I was promised payment was guaranteed because it had been at the request of Deloitte & Touche. Although I hadn't been paid for earlier work I did the later repair and got paid by the administrators.

"If I had been a bit more forceful with getting the earlier debts cleared I may not have been left with more than £5,000 owing to me now."

Mr Fenn said his feelings about the club are not because of the amount he is owed but the principle in which the debt is being written off.

"The £258 I shall get is negligible and it is almost worth losing altogether and voting against the offer if it would make any difference.

"I know small unsecured creditors would not change the way the vote goes," he added.

n Mr Fenn is the latest in what The Evening Star knows is a long line of unsecured creditors who are being stung by the administrator's solution to get Ipswich Town back on a sounder financial footing.

He has decided to speak out and be counted.

Maybe you disagree with his view and would like to have your say. Either way The Evening Star welcomes your opinion and your story for publication, anonymously if preferred.

Please contact Lynn Andrews on 01473 324800 or e-mail: lynn.andrews@eveningstar.co.uk