York City fans ploughed £45,000 directly into the football club last year according to the latest accounts of the Supporters' Trust.

And, in only the second full year of its existence, the cash deficit of the previous year has been turned into a surplus.

More than £70,000 was received by the football club-owning Trust during the 2003-04 season from donations and membership, leading Trust chairman Richard Snowball to once again praise the generosity of the City faithful.

He said: "City's supporters have again demonstrated a great resilience and sustained effort to raise funds for the club they love.

"Thank you to those people who have contributed in whatever way, and particularly to those who help organise events."

In the year to June 30, £71,646 was put into the Trust account and £59,706 was paid out - with roughly three-quarters of that amount going directly into the running of the club.

The level of income was significantly lower than the previous year's total of £455,826 where some £60,000 was generated through bucket collections alone, but this has been put down to the massive recruitment effort to get the Trust off the ground in its early stages.

Further good news was the £11,906 cash surplus of the account, having recorded a deficit of £5,110 in its first full year, with actual cash in the bank and in hand to the tune of £8,025 at the close of play on June 30, compared to a figure some £6,000 higher the previous year.

The latest accounts cover the year ending on June 30 and were audited by York-based company Robinson & Co. Full copies of the accounts are being sent out to Trust members ahead of the forthcoming annual general meeting and fans' forum on December 2, where the latest cash situation will be one of the many topics up for discussion.

Since the Trust was founded in January 2002, York City Supporters' Trust has been one of the most successful in the country with more than £600,000 being gathered from fans to rescue the club from the dire financial situation the Trust inherited.

Its efforts in gaining control of the club and taking it out of administration were formally recognised with the National Trust of the Season award for 2003, having finished as highly commended runners-up to AFC Wimbledon after its fledgling year.

Updated: 10:18 Saturday, November 13, 2004