A HUSBAND and wife have been disqualified from acting as company directors for a total of eleven years.

The disqualification order prevents Andrew Whittaker and Andrea Michelle Whittaker , both of Whalley Banks Farm, Whalley, from being a director of a company or, in any way, whether directly or indirectly, being concerned or taking part in the promotion, formation or management of a company.

The orders were made at Manchester County Court in respect of their conduct as directors of Franchose Fee Collection Ltd, a motor tuning franchise based in Oxford Street, Accrington from December 1993 until September 1997. The company was also known as Computa Tune Ltd.

The company was placed into voluntary liquidation on September 24, 1997 with an estimated deficiency to creditors of £358,637.

Matters of unfit conduct found by the Court in respect of Mr and Mrs Whittaker's conduct included the following:

That they caused or allowed the company to enter into transactions to the detriment of the company and its creditors;

That they caused or allowed regional licensees to be misled as to the company's ownership of the Computa Tune name and logo or alternatively that they removed those assets beyond the reach of the creditors of the liquidation;

That they misled the company's auditors; and

That they breached section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986 in that they used a forbidden company name, Computa Tune Ltd.

Mr Whittaker was disqualified for six years and his wife five.