By Amanda Little

Last updated 13:08, Thursday, 10 July 2008

The sale of Gretna’s stand has fallen through – after the buyers realised the roof was missing.

Scottish Division Two club East Fife agreed to buy the Corries Stand only to discover afterwards that the roof was not part of the deal.

The administrator controlling the affairs of now-defunct Gretna, who went to the wall after owner Brooks Mileson withdrew his backing, put Raydale Park up for sale in May, along with the fixtures and fittings.

East Fife out-bid Alloa Athletic for the 985-seater Corries Stand, which Gretna bought in 2005 and was situated at the Loanwath Road end of the ground.

After accepting East Fife's undisclosed bid, Gretna then claimed it could not sell fixtures, such as the enclosure's roof, from its club grounds.

East Fife chief executive Sid Collumbine said: “I was really angry. If I sent someone a photograph asking ‘Make me an offer on something,’ you assume you get everything the photo contains.

“It was going to cost £13,000 to strip the seating and then it had no cover, so I'm not interested.

“There's a lot of friction going on down there. All they were selling was 985 seats, which would have been terrific if we actually had an enclosure up. I don't think our supporters would have preferred to sit in the open rather than stand in a covered enclosure, especially on a winter's day.”

East Fife now plan to build a new enclosure for their Bayview ground to accommodate away fans.

Gretna went to the wall last month with debts of nearly £4million after Mileson ended his backing of the club he financed to three successive championships and to the 2006 Scottish Cup Final.

The former owner has not been seen in public since he suffered an illness in February, prompting the club to go into administration, and his family have refused to comment on Gretna’s demise.

The Gretna Supporters’ Society, which is hoping to rebuild the former SPL side in non-league football, hope a new club could be based at Raydale Park. The GSS will make a presentation to the East of Scotland League in Edinburgh tonight and expect to hear by the end of the week which league they will play in next season.

Secretary Anton Hodge said: “Our long-term aim is to be at Raydale Park. The administrator has a deadline of July 24 for offers to buy the ground and car park, and we want to rent it if possible.”