Ebbsfleet United Football Club today warded off moves at the High Court to wind it up over another unpaid tax bill.

The club, based at Stonebridge Road in Northfleet, has been taken to court for the second time in a matter of months by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The taxman had been seeking another winding up petition, issued at the end of December, over an unpaid tax demand of £57,165.

Back in December at the same Insolvency and Companies Court, the club had been brought in front of a judge by HMRC in unconnected proceedings after another winding up petition over another debt, the value of which was never disclosed.

However, by the time it reached court, HMRC was no longer seeking a winding up petition at that time as the club had paid the debt.

The judge dismissed that petition and ordered the club, which plays in the National League, to pay the legal costs.

Today, in a replay of the December hearing, the barrister for HMRC said that debt had also been paid and again asked for the application to be dismissed.

Judge Clive Jones agreed and formally dismissed the winding up petition.

If the move to wind up the club had succeeded, the affairs of the company behind the team, Ebbsfleet United Football Club Ltd, would effectively have been handed over to an Official Receiver.

His job would then have been to shut down the team and sell-off any assets of the club to pay its debts.

The case comes at a bad time for Ebbsfleet whose first-team squad last month revealed they had only been paid on time once in the last year.

The club later apologised for the late payment of wages and said they were looking to rectify issues surrounding the non-payment of pension contributions.