BOSSES at debt-ridden AFC Bournemouth are this week expected to tell the borough council they cannot afford to repay a £250,000 loan made five years ago.

The loan, which was awarded to the football club to help with the building of its new stadium, is due to be repaid tomorrow.

But it appears highly unlikely that the club, which has debts of around £4.3 million, will be in a position to repay the money.

Instead, it is expected that the council will come to an agreement with the club where the authority receives other benefits instead of cash repayments.

AFC Bournemouth is currently struggling to restructure its most pressing debts and has several loans secured against the Fitness First stadium, including money from Bristol and West Investments PLC, Lloyds Bank, Northover and Gilbert and Fitness First.

Members of Bournemouth council's cabinet will discuss the situation confidentially tomorrow evening and Cherries chairman Peter Phillips said he did not want to comment on the loan until after this meeting.

But Cllr Adrian Fudge, deputy leader of the council, admitted he did not expect the money to be repaid.

"The council is keen to support the football club and recognises the benefits they bring to the community," he said.

"With their current financial difficulties, it's unlikely they will be able to repay this loan at this moment in time."

The decision to loan the club £250,000 and grant it a further £250,000 sparked controversy in 2000, with Cherries fans arguing the council had a duty to support the community football club and others saying it was an inappropriate use of taxpayers' money.

Conservative Cllr David Clutterbuck is one of those who believes the money should not have been loaned in the first place.

"I have never believed that council taxpayers' money should be used to subsidise professional sport," he wrote in a letter to the Echo.

But his Conservative colleague and former mayor Cllr Jim Courtney, who was a key figure in securing council support for the grant and loan, said: "I think it's important the council continues to support the club.

"We have to look at the facilities that the club provides, particularly for young people."