SCARBOROUGH FC's future hangs by a thread today after chairman John Russell resigned and potential saviour Brooks Mileson washed his hands of the club.

Mileson stormed out of a meeting of Boro's board of directors which had been called to thrash out the cash-strapped club's financial future.

That was just the start of an extraordinary day which leaves the National Conference League club facing an uncertain future with the new season just a week away.

Millionaire insurance tycoon Mileson had been widely reported as being Boro's new owner, but it was revealed yesterday that he is a major creditor of the club which has debts around £2million.

He put forward a rescue package involving setting up a Company Voluntary Arrangement which had been originally accepted by the board earlier in the week.

This step, necessary in order to call a meeting of the club's creditors, was rejected by the board and a furious Mileson stormed out of the ground in Seamer Road saying: "That's me done with Scarborough Football Club."

Two directors, Ray Kemp and Trevor Milton, unsuccessfully attempted to stop Mileson from leaving but he drove away from the McCain Stadium in his car.

The board was split on the proposal, but the alternative scheme of putting the club into administration was not favoured by the club's bank manager or a liquidation expert who had been advising the club.

That prompted a U-turn as former club chairman Ken Ferrie resigned and the voting pattern of the board changed and it was announced that Mileson's original proposal had been accepted.

Mileson, 52, the chairman of Arnott Group Holdings, which controls the north-east based Arnott Century insurance company, is now to consider the board's financial proposals.

Those proposals were sent to creditors yesterday and the board is urging them to accept the plan when it will be discussed by creditors on Friday, August 25.

Mileson had previously declared he would invest in the club if creditors accepted the offer which is being put to them at that meeting.

Seasiders' fans will be hoping he reconsiders his decision to walk away from the club as he seems their only likely saviour.

A winding-up petition brought by one of the smaller creditors had been granted by the High Court on July 28 but implementation of the Company Voluntary Arrangement would nullify that petition.

Russell said at the end of the meeting, "Under the circumstances I feel I have no alternative to resign as chairman, but I am not running away from all the hard work we have put into this club."