A COUPLE whose footwear firm crashed owing more than £390,000 have been banned from being company directors.

David James Wilkinson was disqualified for seven years and Adele Louise Wilkinson for two years by Manchester County Court over their running of Slippers Direct.

The firm manufactured footwear from premises at Ashgrove Works, off Burnley Road, Rawtenstall, for 10 years until it went into liquidation owning £392,737 in June 1997.

Several matters of unfit conduct were found against the couple, who live at Hill End House, Halifax Road, Briercliffe, including that they continued to trade even though they knew or should have known the firm was insolvent.

Mr Wilkinson was also to have found to have sold a Toyota Land Cruiser which was the property of a finance company, on which more than £21,000 was still owed.

The couple also failed to maintain proper records and issued cheques without making sure there were sufficient funds to pay them.

The ban means that the couple are not allowed to be involved in the running of a company.

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