They were hailed as the most successful team ever, taking two Bonneville speed records at the first attempt, in 2012, but two years later things turned sour when two members of the club were accused of stealing more than £18,000 of its funds.

David Paul Hodgson and his partner Ann Maria McGrath had denied stealing money, donated by supporters and sponsors, for their 2014 Bonneville Speed Week challenge. But a jury took just an hour and a half to return guilty verdicts on both last week. They were told the could be jailed.

Chris Procter and Richard Barks, who were part of the Lonan Gentlemen’s Fellowship (LGF) and the associated LGF Supporters’ Club, set up to help a speed record bid, said they were relieved the trial was over.

They said their suspicions were raised soon before they were due to set out for America.

’Richard and I were putting sponsors’ stickers on the bikes,’ Chris said. ’We realised there should be at least £30,000 (based on the fact that each sticker represented a certain amount of money).’

But McGrath, who was the group’s treasurer, had said there was only £10,000 in each of the two accounts.

Richard added: ’We did some more rough calculations and thought the total amount had to be over £40,000.’

When an emergency meeting was called, McGrath did not attend but her partner, Hodgson produced a slip of paper with £26,000 written on it, which he said represented the total funds. This marked the start of four years of anguish for members of the group.

’It would have been easy for the committee members to have brushed it all under the carpet but the money was raised by generous donations from the public and from companies so they thought there was a duty to see it all through, unpleasant as it was,’ Richard said.

Putting matters in perspective, Chris said they owed it not just to the larger sponsors, such as Manx Gas and Domicilium - both generous supporters, but to private individuals too.

’I have a friend who is in his 80s and he saved £1 a week for us out of his pension - and that shows the type of people who trusted us and donated to us,’ he said.

’The other concern is we don’t want it to spoil things for other groups who rely on donations and sponsors to support things that they do.’

There is still fall-out from the court case with paperwork and finances to sort out.

’There are people who were friends who have taken sides and I still often wake up at 4.30am thinking about it,’ Chris said.

’It’s sad because everyone had a fantastic time, including Ann and Paul. It was a friendly club set up with the best of intentions.

’It’s taken four years to sort out but it was the right thing to do.’

On their first visit to Bonneville, in 2012, the Lonan Gentlemen took two records, cracking the 200mph barrier at the first attempt, on a 500cc bike.

’The organisers believe we were the most successful rookie team in the history of the event,’ Richard said.

’Paul was the engine builder for that attempt. It’s sad that the achievement is slightly tarnished by later events.’

’We don’t want to gloat about the court case in any way and we don’t want to look vindictive. It was a horrible situation but it had to be sorted out. We tried everything to resolve it but we really had no option but to contact the police,’ he added.

Their advice to other groups that have to deal with money: have two independent signatories for cheques, and have an agreed, signed constitution, no matter how much you think you are all friends. They also want to thank all their supporters and sponsors for their patience over the past four years.

Chris and Richard are now planning to put events behind them and return to the salt flats in 2021.

Chris is building both a car and a bike, while Richard is building a bike based on an old BSA.

The aim is to get all the finances in order and regain the trust of the group’s supporters, as well as recapturing the magic of their earlier escapades.

’I never would have dreamed I could run a bike at Bonneville, so it was a dream come true in 2012. And it’s so hard to actually get a record,’ Richard said.

’It all felt a bit like being 16 again,’ said Chris.