Anger as sports club is hit by its third break-in
Latest incident was between Christmas and new year
A SPORTS club has been targeted by thieves and vandals for the third time in as many months.
The groundsman and Sunday chairman at Thurlaston Sports Ground, Simon Jones, said the first two incidents appeared to be a professional job.
The most recent incident took place between Christmas and the new year, when no one was at the club, with the other two taking place in October and November.
He said all the locks were cut with grinders and equipment was taken in the first incident.
Among the items taken was a £4,000 mower – which was vital for the club. He also said both of the club’s garages were damaged during the first raid.
The second incident, which happened in November, seemed to the victims as though the perpetrators had returned to see if the stolen equipment had been replaced –which it had not.
Nothing was taken during this incident.
The third and most recent raid, according to Simon, was just “mindless vandals”.
The main door was broken, a window was ripped open and the white paint from the sideline marker had been used on the sports fields.
The club is run entirely by volunteers who have come together yet again to repair the damage.
“We are very angry and frustrated, I have arranged to meet a few of them on Saturday and we will board up, tidy up, clear up and get everything sorted,” Simon said.
“We refused to buy new equipment as we didn’t want to line their pockets again, so we now have to pay an outside company to cut our pitches.
“The first two weeks after the breakin games had to be cancelled.
“The worse thing in my opinion is that although our volunteers are very busy we had to give up even more of our time to sort all the mess out every time we get broken into.
“We are also a registered charity which in my opinion makes it more despicable.”
Simon said the first break-in and the most recent incident were reported to the police. However, because the club do not have CCTV due to financial costs, the police could not do anything.
A police spokeswoman confirmed the latest incident has been reported.
The force said: “Police received a report today of criminal damage at a premises in Earl Shilton Road, Thurlaston.
It was reported to have happened between 11pm on January 1 and 3am on Thursday. The person reporting does say they can’t be sure when the incident may have happened.
“It relates to damage caused to garage and clubhouse doors plus metal grille to a window. It’s not believed any entry was gained. Given the unconfirmed time and location, there are no further lines of inquiry for us to progress and the crime will be held on record.”
The repair cost has been covered by the club and Simon said it is vital that clubs like this continue to run for the good of the community.