AN East Lancashire racing driver and businessman is set to save York City FC from bankruptcy by becoming the new owner and chairman.

John Batchelor's bid -- believed to be around £4.5million -- has been accepted by the club and an official announcement is due within the next 48 hours.

And John, a former toilet rolls salesman for System Hygiene, in Altham, vowed he would not let the cash-strapped club -- currently languishing near the bottom of Division Three -- go down the pan.

He said: "We are second to the bottom but we have nine points and four games in hand on Halifax. If I was a betting man I would bet on York staying up. With the games in hand, we may get a mid-table position."

The club has been at risk of going bankrupt because of a cash crisis, but once it is stable, John said he hoped to take them into the higher regions of the league.

He said: "We will stay up this year and consolidate our position in Division Three next year. But the season after that, we will try get to the play-offs."

Motor racing tycoon John, whose cars are maintained by Columbia motors, in Rishton, said he was hoping to acquire the club for commercial reasons, which would also boost his racing team. He and an anonymous partner beat off rival bids.

He is known to want to base his motorsport operation in York, and if the deal goes ahead he could be racing under the banner York City Racing.

His plans, which could rejuvenate the club, include building a new 15,000 seater stadium within the next couple of years.

This could invovle selling the club's Bootham Crescent ground. The owner of a Honda Integra touring car team which races in the British Touring Car Championship, John has used football clubs to sponsor him in the past. His current sponsor is DIY giant B&Q which led him to legally changing his name to John B&Q -- a name which he still holds.

Father-of-four John, 43, who until last year lived in Revidge Road, Blackburn, said: "I started the racing team in 1999 and got Blackburn Rovers to go in partnership with me which worked very well.

"In 2000 I did the same with Manchester City. When a football club became available to buy I took the decision to purchase the club.

"We are a very unusual racing team and York City will be a very unusual football club. The two will be married together, there are lots of commercial advantages in that.

"At the moment the racing team is the B&Q but it will be known as the B&Q York City Racing Team. I won't be changing my name again though."

A former season ticket holder at Turf Moor, John said he would leave the footballing side of the club to the current manager and playing staff, while he concentrated on the business side.

But he warned that changes will have to be made with the wage structure.

He said: "We need to run it as a business and not a loss-making entity." He hopes a deal can go through ahead of Saturday's home match with Darlington.