CREDITORS of Darlington Football Club have accepted administrators' proposals which are expected to enable the Quakers to start next season with no points deduction.

Companies and creditors with a value of 93 per cent value of the club's £7.8m debt passed the Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) today.

Only one creditor turned up to the meeting with the rest of the creditors voting by proxy.

The club needed at least 75 per cent worth of the creditors to accept the proposals for the CVA to be passed.

The document also had to be passed by more than half of the creditors unconnected with the club - 85 per cent voted in favour.

All football creditors, including players and other clubs, will receive all their debt. Unsecured creditors, including councils, the tax man, local businesses, have accepted just 0.9p in the pound.

Dave Clark, from administrator Brackenbury Clark & Co, was confident the CVA would enable Darlington to start the forthcoming League Two season without any further points penalty.

He said: "It was a bit of formality really. Most of the creditors voted by proxy which is a piece of paper they submitted instructing the chairman to vote on their behalf."

The CVA will return control of the club to former chairman George Houghton, but he is in advanced stages to sell it on to his previous vice-chairman Raj Singh.

The administration process will take between four and eight weeks to complete enabling an appeal process and all paperwork to be finalised.

After that the sale can be completed with Mr Singh and the club can offer contracts to players and management who have agreed to sign.