A DEFUNCT Redditch charity for the homeless has left debts of more than £380,000, the Advertiser can exclusively reveal.

A Statement of Affairs concerning Step Out Drop In (SODI), leaked to the Advertiser this week, shows a list of about 40 creditors, including utilities, banks, legal advisers and local authorities.

SODI, led by former Redditch Council Leader David Cartwright, closed in September after hitting a cash crisis and is now being investigated by the Charity Commission over allegations of financial mismanagement.

The Statement of Affairs also reveals one of SODI's main creditors is the Big Lottery Fund, which is owed £134,000 for a grant made to buy a property in South Street in 1998.

Fund spokesman Dan Ward explained the amount was payable because they retained an on-going interest in grants to ensure they were used properly.

The document also shows SODI took out a mortgage on the same property for about £124,700 to release capital.

It states: "A mortgage on the South Street property was recommended by the project director to enable the charity to continue to develop.

''The recommendation was accepted by the trustees and the director assured them that all necessary steps were undertaken and that the charity was able to make the relevant mortgage payments from the income."

But Mr Ward told the Advertiser SODI had failed to request permission to re-mortgage the property.

He added: "Following an investigation into Step Out Drop In by the Charity Commission, we are currently acting on a number of concerns that have been raised relating to a grant we made in 1998."

The charity's other main creditors include Redditch Council, which is owed more than £20,000, the Inland Revenue(£20,000) and Seeboard electricity (£10,000).

Redditch Borough Director Chris Smith said the council was taking appropriate action and "this matter is in the hands of the liquidators".

Mr Cartwright said: "Certainly, the history as is described in the report is inaccurate and the reason why the charity was in financial difficulty was because it lost its contract in July in Droitwich, which was worth £100,000 out of a budget of £360,000.

''The Statement of Affairs seems to have missed this out but that was the reason the organisation was in difficulty.

''It then, after I left, lost a further £200,000 because of the actions the trustees took."