Golf blazer makes me look like a deckchair, says Busby Babe Ray

Ray Wood, 70, ex-Manchester United goalkeeper, claims he had been driven to a heart attack by an acrimonious row over the gold and navy striped captain s jacket.

But this week, following a Sunday newspaper article on what he called bullying tactics never experienced as a soccer player, Mr Wood and his club have agreed to keep the matter in the club house and resolve it privately.

Mr Wood, who moved to Bexhill 20 years ago, claimed he had been bullied and victimised by other members of Highwoods Golf Club because he refuses to wear the brightly coloured blazer.

In the article Mr Wood said: "This business has been so stressful I am sure it brought on my recent heart attack."

He became captain last year but, he said, fell from favour when he declined to wear the blazer.

"I refused because it makes me look like a cross between a deckchair attendant and an overgrown wasp. It makes the club a laughing stock.

"There s nothing in the rules that says I have to wear the jacket but I feel I am now being bullied into wearing it."

In the article he claimed he had been "manhandled" by two members who pulled at his jacket at the Christmas lunch.

"There was never this kind of bullying when I played football," he said. "When I represented Manchester United and England I only ever wore a smart navy blazer with a badge. If that was good enough for my country then I think it is good enough for Highwoods."