Barnet Football Club were served an emergency injunction on Friday barring them from carrying out safety improvements on Underhill stadium.

Barnet Council went to the High Court to stop the club starting work on a £100,000 investment, for which it does not have planning permission.

The work would include new disabled parking bays and improvements to emergency access at the southern end of the ground.

The club had applied for planning permission on December 14, but the council was unable to process the application by January 9.

Barnet FC chairman Tony Kleanthous wanted to start work by this date so that it coincided with the council resurfacing Priory Grove outside the stadium. He told the council that he would begin work unless the council obtained an injunction against it.

He said the authority could have allowed the permission to have been granted retrospectively.

"Under the statutory terms of our consultation process, 21 days has to be allowed for anyone who has an objection to make their views known," said a council spokeswoman.

Mr Kleanthous said: "We are wasting our time with this council. They seem determined to hold us up they seem reluctant to give us anything. What they are doing is to the detriment of safety of spectators"