FORMER Darlington Football Club chairman George Reynolds last night said he blamed himself for his latest brush with the law.

Police arrested the 67-year-old, his cousin Richard Tennick and personal assistant Ian Robinson on suspicion of money laundering after seizing £500,000 cash from his car at High Etherley, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, on Monday afternoon.

Magistrates subsequently allowed police to retain the cash for a month, pending further inquiries. Detectives told the court they believed the money had been laundered from the Quakers.

Yesterday, however, Mr Reynolds said: "I can understand entirely how it must have looked and I don't blame the bank or the police for rushing to the wrong conclusion. You can best describe me as an old dinosaur, one of a dying breed, who only deals in cash and that's the way I intend to continue."

He said that events leading to his arrest began when the club's new owner, the Sterling Consortium, struck a deal to take over his liabilities, debts and guarantees relating to the club.

The package, sanctioned by a High Court judge, also included the sale of his Witton Hall home on which the consortium had first charge.

And on June 9, solicitors for the consortium issued a £800,000 banker's draft in part payment for his home.

The draft was deposited at the Co-operative Bank, in Darlington, from where Mr Reynolds withdrew £500,000 last Friday.

"I chose a banker's draft for the part payment as I believed it would be the simplest form of transfer.

"I realise now it would have been far better if I had had a cheque issued by the solicitors and a note of confirmation sent to the bank," he said.

"I never use credit cards and because I struggle with reading statements I have always preferred to deal in cash, but I always pay the required VAT and keep comprehensive records of all my dealings.

"With having just started a new company I decided to withdraw a large amount from the bank to cover all the needed expenditure.

"My biggest regret in this is that Mr Tennick and Mr Robinson, who have never ever been in trouble with the police, have had their names dragged through the mud because of my old-fashioned cash-only habit.''