Uffington Cricket Club broken into and grounds equipment stolen
Members of a sports club are devastated after thieves stole equipment costing thousands of pounds.
When Adrian Morrell, groundsman for Uffington Cricket Club, arrived at the site on Friday morning (March 1) he discovered the locked gates had been cut open and three mowers, power tools and equipment stolen.
Dean Cornish, a member of Uffington Cricket Club, said: “We are obviously devastated. The worry for us is that the season starts in about five weeks.
“We are a small club and do a lot of fundraising for our equipment.
“A lot of clubs in the local area enjoy coming here and say we have one of the best grounds in the area.”
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Replacing the stolen items is expected to cost about £15,000.
Members of the club were due to meet this week to consider how to resolve the situation and prepare their ground, off the junction of Essendine Road and Greatford Road, for the playing season.
An insurance claim is in progress.
Uffington Cricket Club, which has about 140 members, has been broken into before, which led to increased security measures being put in place.
There has been speculation the same criminals may have returned.
“Our club is down a track, you don’t just drive past it,” said Dean.
“It is obviously not opportunists but thieves professionally targeting local cricket clubs.”
Ketton Sports and Community Centre in Pit Lane was broken into last month, with thieves making off with most of the grounds-keeping equipment.
A £15,000 fundraising appeal has been launched to help the club prepare for its opening match on April 13 and more than £3,500 has been raised.
The pavilion at Easton-on-the-Hill Cricket Club is also believed to have been broken into, and mowing equipment was taken from Rutland Showground in Oakham.
Lincolnshire Police is investigating the break-in at Uffington Cricket Club and anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting crime reference number 24000125932.