Four bosses of a firm involved in the multi-million pound regeneration of Bradford's Little Germany have been banned as directors of a company after facing allegations of forgery and fraud.

None of the four directors of Kenburgh Investments (Northern) Ltd contested the claims and accepted they were unfit to hold the position of director or manager.

Graham Wood, 47, of Slingsby Close, Bradford, and Kenneth Norris, of Pool Road, Pool-in-Wharfedale, were disqualified for 13 years at the High Court in London.

John Holmes, 49, of Bishops Stortford and Malcolm Young, 45, of Edinburgh, were banned for 14 and a half years.

Before making his decision, Mr Justice Rimer said the story of the management of Kenburgh Investments was "deplorable".

A spokesman for the Department of Trade's Insolvency Service said the disqualifications - near the 15-year maximum - reflected the gravity of the allegations.

The four were accused of making false claims to obtain nearly £1 million of grant aid from English Partnerships while renovating 47 to 53 Well Street in Little Germany.

They also allowed the company to trade when it had no cash and they paid £1.15 million from the company to Mentor Project Management Ltd - controlled by Holmes and Young - with no justification

The court was told they also misled their main creditor, builder Robert R. Roberts Ltd.

The court heard Kenburgh Investments bought the former wool warehouse in 1994 and started a development scheme with Roberts Ltd. The court heard that the four obtained £902,000 towards the cost from English Partnerships by falsely claiming Mentor had carried out £2.9 million of work and had been paid "substantial sums" by Kenburgh.

Kenburgh Investments plc was eventually wound up and the four men finally agreed to pay the liquidator £1.25 million.

Holmes and Wood were also accused of receiving £25,000 each from Kenburgh Investments when it was insolvent.

Richard Willoughby, Bradford Council's Assistant Director of Regeneration, said: "We are obviously disappointed to hear about the company's actions and the subsequent High Court judgements. However we are confident that this will not detract from the success of the redevelopment projects ."

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