High-level concerns over safety at Workington’s Borough Park football ground have sparked a legal fightback from the club.

Workington AFC have twice been denied a safety certificate after its engineer failed to satisfy the county council’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) or its legal advisers.

Council chiefs decided in October that the capacity of the stands should be set at “zero” – a recommendation that they are not used until a certificate can be issued.

The ruling forced the 11th-hour cancellation of a Reds’ game back in October which cost an estimated £6,000 in lost revenue and could even have affected the club’s league status.

The club then appealed the decision and the case is going through the courts, during which time Borough Park still has the right to host games.

A second supplementary note from the engineer to the council’s legal department failed to persuade them to reverse their earlier decision not to issue the safety certificate.

Workington Reds said it takes its obligations “very seriously”, with safety of “paramount importance”.

The club said the county council had “at no time” identified any specific problems or defects in the stands that would give cause for concern.

They described their structural engineer as a “highly experienced” member of the Institution of Structural Engineers, who had carried out annual inspections of the stadium for almost a decade.

A spokesman added: “Basically, the safety of sports grounds is governed by law and the club believes our structural engineer’s report secures ‘reasonable safety’ of our stands, as required by this legislation.”

The club also said it was “very surprised and extremely disappointed” that the council had reduced the capacity of its stands.

The move forced the last minute cancellation of a Reds league game which they said gave them no time to lodge an appeal.

A club spokesman added: “More seriously, failure to fulfil any fixture at our level is a very serious affair – with many damaging implications.

“There was a major risk of large fines and sanctions that would seriously affect Reds’ future continuing to play in the Northern Premier League.”

The club said the legal appeal was not an action it had taken lightly, insisting it has a “bona fide and reasonable claim”, giving it the right to challenge the county council.

The case is next at court on Tuesday.