A football club could be forced to spend thousands of pounds installing new security measures after a spate of vandalism at its ground.
Yobs broke into the Pro-Edge Westwood Road Stadium, home of St Ives Town Football Club, last Friday (July 28) and caused extensive damage.
The vandals daubed paint over walls and turnstiles, wrote obscenities, and also damaged seats during the incident.
Chairman of the club, Gary Clarke, said it was the latest in a recent spate of vandalism, which has also seen youngsters riding bikes over the playing surface, causing damage.
Mr Clarke told The Hunts Post: “They came in through the turnstiles, daubed graffiti on the walls, the area around the turnstiles, and on the players’ tunnel.
“We have been experiencing quite a few problems recently with kids riding their bikes on the grass, and they have also broken chairs in the stands.
“The worry for us is, are they going to wreck the pitch? The most annoying thing is, these are kids are undoubtedly local and this is their local team. They should be celebrating its success, not vandalising it because they are bored.”
Mr Clarke said club volunteers had managed to repair most of the damage done during the break-in but added that he would have to consider installing new security measures in order to stop it happening again in future, something that would impact on the budget of the club.
He added: “We are now going to have to look at installing CCTV and other security because it is the only way we can stop it from happening.”
St Ives Town play their football in the Southern League Premier Division.
A spokesman for Cambridgeshire police said: “Vandals broke into the football club grounds during the late afternoon or evening of July 28 and caused considerable damage to walls and seating by throwing paint around and writing obscenities and other graffiti.
“Damage was also caused to the turnstiles and to storage cupboards. Police investigations, including forensic analysis of items left at the scene, are on-going.”
Anyone with information can contact Cambridgeshire police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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