A BIZARRE refereeing decision gifted Devizes Town three points in the 2-1 derby win over Melksham on Tuesday.

Melksham boss Nigel Tripp was sent off for his protests after referee Ben Knight ordered the visitors' substitute Richard Butler off the field to change the cycling shorts he was wearing under his football shorts because they were not the same colour.

While he was off the field Devizes striker Dave Kilmurray headed home the winning goal.

After a few minutes of arguing with Knight, Tripp was sent off and had to watch the remainder of the game from the stands.

The referee said: "The player was wearing black cycling shorts, which we did not pick up until late in the game.

"According to association football rules under shorts must be the same colour as a player's football shorts, so I asked him to leave the field and change them. The language from the Melksham dugout was poor all game, Nigel Tripp took his protests too far and I was right to send him off."

Tripp said: "I did not swear at the referee once and I feel his decisions was extremely harsh."

Meanwhile Devizes Town AFC Limited, the company owned by former chairman Chris Belcher, appeared in the High Court in London on Wednesday and was issued with a wind up order after an application by the Inland Revenue over unpaid taxes.

The company will be taken over by an official receiver to ensure the company's debts are paid off by selling any assets. The move does not affect Devizes, who became a separate company when Belcher was ousted in July 2003.