TORY council leader Mike Jones is putting his company into voluntary liquidation.

ASC Developments (Chester) Ltd director Cllr Jones this week confirmed his decision to fellow Tories.

But neither he nor Cheshire West and Chester Council is prepared to comment as it is regarded as a private matter.

However, the news has prompted angry Chester businessman Stephen Trollope to call for the council leader’s resignation.

Mr Trollope is the owner of Cheshire Screeding Services Ltd, which did £2,880 tiling work for Cllr Jones’s Saltney-based electrical, plumbing and building firm.

Mr Trollope was never paid for the work and took the matter to the small claims court where ASC was made subject of a court order regarding the outstanding debt which had to be paid by February 15.

But ASC didn’t pay up leading to a court warrant being issued last Wednesday which means court bailiffs would be called in if the matter was not settled within seven days.

Cllr Jones, who represents the Tattenhall ward, told fellow Tory councillors of his decision to close his company in an email marked ‘confidential’ sent on Monday.

In the email, Cllr Jones, who lives in Hargrave, wrote: “Just to let you know, I made a decision last week to put my business into voluntary liquidation. There are a range of reasons for this and happy to discuss if you have questions on an individual basis.

“No doubt the Press will try and make something of it, however, it does not affect the council and is frankly a private matter. I am concerned for the 14 staff made redundant and some of them have been subjected to awful attention by the press in the past and I would like them to sort themselves out without any press intrusion.

“I therefore request that if any of you is approached by the press that they are informed that it is a private matter and since it does affect the council you have no comment. Many thanks, Mike.”

Cllr Jones has not responded to requests from The Chronicle for an interview and council spokeswoman Rachel Ashley said the issue was of a personal nature and offered ‘no comment’.

Conservative voter Mr Trollope, of Tarvin Road, Littleton, told The Chronicle he believes Cllr Jones should resign, adding: “I want my money.

“I want to get paid for a job I have done. The customers are happy and the customers have paid for it.”

The father-of-two intends to make a complaint under the council code of conduct.

His wife Emma, also a Tory voter, is writing to the national chairman of the Conservative Party.

Mr Trollope’s firm carried out tiling work for ASC on two bathrooms for ASC at a property in Antrobus last year, amounting to £2,880, but this was never paid nor was the £140 court fees or interest of £30.