Macclesfield Town FC has been wound up in the High Court with debts of more than £500,000 to creditors.

The BBC reports that Judge Sebastian Prentis made the order during a hearing in the Insolvency and Companies Court after being told £190,000 was owed in tax.

The court was also told the club owed ex-manager John Askey £173,000, with the same sum owed to a financial lender.

Amar Alkadhi, the club's current owner, had asked the judge for a further eight-week adjournment to address the debts.

This is the latest development in a difficult period for the club after being relegated from the EFL just over a month ago after points deduction for failing to pay players.

The winding-up petition was adjourned for the 12th time last week with Alhadhi claiming the sale to Robert Benwell as at an advanced stage.

The judge said that Mr Benwell's business plan for the club had not been presented.

Reports say the court was told Mr Alkadhi understood the amount due to creditors was just £4,000 and had made a late offer to pay an initial £20,000 to HM Revenue and Customs.

He also supplied a screenshot of a bank statement showing £1.1m of funds to prove he could pay.

The BBC quotes the judge as saying "nothing gives me comfort that the club can pay its debts in a reasonable period," adding, that there had been "ample opportunity" for Mr Alkadhi to pay creditors.

Reacting to the news, the Silkmen Supporters' Trust said: "The SST are devastated by the decision of the court to wind up Macclesfield Town Football Club.

"The responsibility for this lies at the feet of one person- Amar Alkadhi.

"We are currently looking into what actions we can take to save the club and as such will be seeking a meeting with the receiver as soon as possible."

The Trust added: "In the meantime the SST will attempt to put together a rescue bid. We ask all our fans to unite and get behind the SST. We therefore ask any fan with specialist knowledge to contact the SST asap."