A steward at the centre of a workingmen's club row will learn this week whether he has a future there.

Members are furious and bar staff have walked out after Malcolm Jones, steward of Langley Park club, near Durham City, was suspended for breach of contract.

The alleged breach happened when he refused to let inexperienced staff work behind the bar on New Year's Eve.

Last Tuesday he was given a seven-day suspension and barred from the club. He now faces the prospect of losing his house, which comes with the job, if the decision, expected this week, goes against him.

A club insider, who did not want to be named, said Mr Jones' suspension, which was due to be discussed at a club committee meeting yesterday, was not brought up.

Mr Jones, 47, will now have to wait until at least Tuesday before hearing his fate.

His supporters say the row started when the secretary, Keith Reay, refused to pay time-and-a-half for bar staff on New Year's Eve.

When staff made different plans, the club drafted in three committee men with no bar experience to man the pumps. When Mr Jones refused to let them work on the bar, he was suspended.

Now many of the club's members, which number about 1,500, are boycotting the club until the steward is reinstated and some are refusing to use Mr Reay's nearby newsagent's shop.