Cardiff Devils fans have staged a noisy protest against the club's threatened closure.

Waving banners and placards outside the National Ice Rink, they voiced their anger at the demise of one of Britain's most successful clubs.

Supporters say they are determined to fight to keep the club going, despite the receivers being called in and the loss of their Superleague status.

One frustrated fan said he could not come to terms with the fact that the club had reached such a dire financial state.

"There is a lot of anger that this has become possible," he said.

"This is the most successful sporting team in Wales; we have trophies galore.

"There is anger that in a short space of time since its inception, the club has gone to financial ruin."

The BT Cardiff Devils went into voluntary liquidation after an emergency meeting of creditors was called.

Cardiff Devils Ice Hockey Limited plus parent company Celtic Leisure Holdings PLC issued a public notice earlier this month for a meeting of creditors under the Insolvency Act 1986.

The club is understood to have lost �250,000 this season on top of a �2.5m shortfall over the previous four seasons and chief executive Bob Phillips had warned that the team could not continue to sustain such losses.

Phillips said uncertainty over a new playing arena - which would have boosted takings from a higher capacity arena - had contributed to the problems.

The Devils have been playing at the 2,700 capacity Cardiff Ice Rink, which is too small to generate sufficient gate receipts. It has the smallest capacity in the Superleague.

The franchise had hoped to move to a larger home in the planned �240m Sports Village in Cardiff Bay, but there have been delays in its construction which Phillips blames the council for.

Council spokesman Trevor Gough, head of Services and Leisure, had previously stated that there was a limit to how much assistance could be given to a private enterprise

Reluctant

However, Phillips has now countered that the financial shortfall is "primarily" due to the provision of public skating at the rink, not the running of the Devils.

One option suggested is to move the franchise out of Wales all together and Phillips said that Dublin could be a possible destination.

The Devils had also considered building a new home in Nantgarw, near Caerphilly, but that is now unlikely.

Phillips denied that the financial crisis had resulted in the non-payment of some players' wages, but admitted that there were some outstanding "dividend" payments.