DORCHESTER Town chairman Shaun Hearn insists there is no reason to panic despite the club being issued with a winding up petition.

The Magpies defaulted on one instalment of an arranged payment plan with HM Revenue & Customs and as a result the latter applied to put the club into liquidation.

A petition has since been presented – on June 15 – and the case will be heard at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on July 28.

The worst case scenario would see the football club fold, but Hearn is confident that the matter will be resolved.

He told Echosport: “We’re making inroads and hopefully it will be sorted out before July 28.

“It’s not a big deal because we’re still fighting the same battles we were fighting back in September.

“I’m sure there are 101 football clubs in this kind of situation. Times are tough for everybody but I wouldn’t do anything to harm this club.

“It’s only a petition and it’s not been executed so what I would say to supporters is don’t panic.”

Hearn did not wish to divulge the amount of money owed but added: “We are not talking the same figures that you see at other clubs. If you default on a payment plan you get treated the same whether it’s a few pence or hundreds of thousands of pounds.

“We’ve tried to manage it as best we can and pay everybody that needs paying. We’ve got to do what is required and we will get there in the end.”

Vice-chairman and company secretary David Martin shared Hearn’s sentiments, saying: “All current payments of PAYE (Income Tax) and VAT have been made in full. The current year is up to date.

“When Shaun Hearn acquired the 51 per cent majority shareholding from Eddie Mitchell they agreed a list of creditors and a list of debtors.

“Included in the creditors was an amount of money owed to HM Revenue & Customs. An instalment schedule was agreed with HM Revenues & Customs to pay this over a period of time.

“During January and February there was a prolonged period of bad weather and we lost matches. This affected cash flow and we missed an instalment.

“The club is continuing to make the instalment payments and talking to HM Revenue & Customs about the missed payment.

“The club is in a much healthier position than it was a year ago and the board has substantially reduced the amount of money it owes.”