A judge has dismissed an application by the taxman to wind up London Welsh after being told the debt-ridden rugby union club had gone into liquidation.

Officials at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) had asked for the Richmond-based club to be wound up at hearings in the Bankruptcy & Companies Court.

But Registrar Nicholas Briggs this morning (Monday, January 23) dismissed the application after a lawyer representing HMRC told him the club had gone into liquidation before Christmas.

A lawyer had indicated at an earlier hearing the club owed more than £90,000 in tax.

In early December, London Welsh chairman Gareth Hawkins said the club aimed to go into voluntary liquidation, arguing there was ''no alternative''.

Mr Hawkins said: ''London Welsh has reached a difficult point in its illustrious history.

''Due to a playing budget of £1.7million and gates at games numbering as low as 400, the club's current business model is totally unsustainable.

''The debts accrued from trading in this way have left the club with no alternative but to seek liquidation.''

Earlier this month players and staff posted a statement on the club website thanking people who had donated to a support fund.

In December the Rugby Football Union announced it had granted a new company a temporary licence so London Welsh can play its next two fixtures.

But a points deduction – a penalty for entering liquidation – meant the club has dropped from fifth in the second-tier Championship to second-bottom, where they still sit.

London Welsh formally entered liquidation on Friday, December 23.