Forest Green Rovers striker Andy Mangan has been charged by the Football Association after a probe into a betting scandal.

He is alleged to have placed £3,500 on his former club Bury to win at Accrington Stanley in the last game of the last League Two season when he was with still at Gigg Lane.

Four other players – all with Accrington at the time – have been charged with gambling on their side to lose.

Jay Harris, David Mannix, Robert Williams and Peter Cavanagh have, like Mangan, been accused of breaching the FA's betting rules.

An FA statement said: "All five are alleged to have placed bets on Bury to win this match. Mannix is alleged to have placed stakes to the value of approximately £4,000; Mangan £3,500; Harris £2,000; Williams £1,000; and Cavanagh on a £5 accumulator."

The FA have not brought match-fixing charges – such accusations are extremely difficult to prove – but the players could face lengthy suspensions and perhaps even life bans if they are found guilty.

Mangan was not in the Bury side for the match under investigation, but both Harris and Cavanagh played in the game, which ended 2-0 to Bury.

The FA were alerted after bookies in the North West reported unusual betting patterns in the lead-up to the match with higher-than-usual amounts being staked in particular areas of the country.

A lengthy investigation has uncovered enough evidence to bring the charges, but according to FA sources they believe they have only scratched the surface in terms of the amount of money actually bet.

Harris, who is now registered with Chester, has also been charged in relation to betting on a game involving his new club and another two League Two fixtures.

Cavanagh has also been charged with further breaches in relation to his betting on another Accrington match in which he played and on a number of other League Two matches.

All five have until April 23 to respond to the charges.

Meanwhile, Leighton McGivern, also registered with Accrington Stanley at the time of the game, was charged last month with failure to provide the FA with information requested during the course of the investigation. He has denied the charge.

Under FA rules, players, managers or coaching staff are prohibited from betting on the result or progress of any match or competition in which they are participating or have any direct or indirect influence over.

Cavanagh and Mannix are former Liverpool trainees, while Harris was a trainee at Everton. Cavanagh and Williams are still registered with Accrington, while Mannix is at Chester.

Mangan is now with Blue Square Premier side Forest Green.

Mangan spent two seasons with Accrington earlier in his career and was loaned to the club for a month by Bury last year.

The striker has hit a rich vein of form for Rovers. He scored his 24th goal of the season on Saturday to consign title-chasing Cambridge to their first defeat in 13 matches.