MORRIS Motors Athletics and Social Club in Cowley, Oxford, could be closed over an unpaid £54,000 VAT bill.

A compulsory winding-up order over the £53,982 debt was served yesterday in London's High Court .

The decision could mean the end of the road for the organisation founded by Lord Nuffield in the 1920s and which has more then 1,000 subscribing members.

Facilities at the working mens' club in Crescent Road include a bar, social club and sports clubs which have been used by tens of thousands of car workers at the Cowley car plant.

The order was made despite two attempts to stave it off.

Club affairs are in the hands of receivers despite intense lobbying by Oxford East MP Andrew Smith, who recently wrote to Paul Gray, chairman of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, asking for the debt to be paid off in instalments.

Yesterday, Mr Registrar Rawson rejected a plea by the club to adjourn proceedings.

Mr Smith said: "Just when the club has put the past troubles and legal action behind it - and the wonderful new facilities are taking shape - it would be tragic if the progress they have made were to be torpedoed by this historic VAT debt.

"The club accepts the need to pay it but can only do so by instalments.

"It clearly is not in the interest of the local community or club members for revenue and customs to plunge the club into a financial hole.

"I took up the club's concerns and wrote to Paul Gray, chairman of HMRC, three weeks ago asking if payment by instalments could be agreed."

Club secretary Michael Kelly said a meeting would take place today to work out the next move.

He added: "At the end of the day there will be nothing left for the community."

The club has been racked by in-fighting and court battles in recent years, with the plans to redevelop the site at the heart of the row.

Developer Chesside Homes is nearing completion of the new clubhouse as well as 34 flats and 24 houses on the site.

But confusion has now been thrown over the future of the clubhouse which, it is believed, is owned by the membership.

Mr Smith added: "This is a real tragedy for all those who have worked hard to get the club back on its feet.

"The new sporting and social facilities under construction are hugely important to the local community, and I am urging the city council to meet with club representatives and the administrators to look into how the project can be saved for the benefit of local people."

Roy Perks, a club member for almost 40 years, said: "It is very sad - the club is a way of life for so many people."