A group of Sikhs has sued a private club in Manchester for racial discrimination after it banned the community from entering its premises.
The Darley Lawn Tennis and Social Club took the action after a fight broke out on new year's eve, 2004, involving a group of Sikh men in which club members were injured.
The incident led to the closure of the 85-year-old social club in 2005, though its tennis section is still up and running, according to South Manchester Reporter newspaper.
"After the incident all Sikhs were suspended. We banned all Sikhs and suspended them because when we asked for cooperation from the Sikh community to identify the people who caused the trouble, the Sikhs didn't cooperate. It meant we couldn't identify the people involved in the fight, so we were able to suspend them all by association," club treasurer Brian Riley said.
The lawsuit was filed by 11 Sikhs last week at the Manchester County Court.