AUDITORS should be called in to the York Community Stadium “fiasco as it descends into expense and acrimony,” a councillor has claimed.

Cllr Mark Warters on Thursday night asked the Audit and Governance Committee to ask the district auditor to get involved in the situation, which has seen the council refuse to deal with John Guildford, the chairman of York City Knights rugby league club.

Cllr Warters said: “It’s descending into a very very expensive and acrimonious mess.” and I think the District Auditor needs to be probing what’s going on.”

He has since written to Mazars – who did the external audit on the council’s accounts – asking for an independent investigation into the rising costs of the project. 

A council spokesman said no senior officials at the authority had been contacted about the matter by Cllr Warters, adding that Mazars is a private company.