A YOUTH football team could have to fork out thousands after travellers broke into their ground with an angle grinder and left nappies strewn across the pitch.
A convoy of 20 arrived at Thetford Town Youth FC last week after the group forced entry by breaking locks and damaging their main gate.
A youth football team could have to fork out thousands after a convoy of 20 travellers in caravans broke into their ground Credit: SWNS
They broke locks, damaged the main gate and attempted to angle grind the locks off goals Credit: SWNS
They arrived at the club’s site in on Friday afternoon at 3pm and “drove back and forth over the pitches used for matches”.
CCTV caught the moment the caravans trespassed across the pitch as men were seen attempting to angle grind the locks off goals.
Before leaving at 7.30pm on Sunday, they also left behind scores of rubbish which included a car seat, cans and dirty nappies.
Thetford Town FC said they had to fill an astonishing five trailers worth of waste and spent a day cleaning the site.
The club said they filled five trailers worth of waste and spent a day cleaning the site Credit: SWNS
The rubbish included car seats, cans and dirty nappies Credit: SWNS
Darren Iles, a director of the club, said they had only recently forked out £2,000 worth of grass seed and fertiliser which the “blatant” group had ruined.
He said: “You put all this work in to give the kids the best ground they can have and these people just do what they want.
“We’re hoping with some rain the pitches will be okay but this season won’t be very pretty for our youth teams.
“The left behind five trailer loads full of rubbish. The money to clean up is going to come straight out of our youth funds.
“Every inch of our pitches is covered with CCTV. What frustrates me is that these people are breaking and entering. This is private land.
“They can do what they want and no one can touch them. They’re so blatant about it and they were clued up.”
Volunteers for the club staked out the pitches for the duration of the travellers stay to make sure no further damages were caused.
Nigel Armes, chairman of Thetford Town Youth FC, added: “The club and volunteers have been on full alert and have been up all night to protect the on-site facilities.
“The biggest problem was them running cars over the pitches because it is going to cost thousands to repair.”
The club posted a statement to on Sunday evening saying they had “recently experienced an unfortunate incident involving unauthorised access to our youth pitches”.
They said: “Those responsible forced entry by breaking the locks and damaging the main access gate.
“In May, the club invested thousands of pounds in preparing the pitches for the new season, including drill seeding and fertilisation to ensure the highest possible playing surfaces for our players.
“A clean-up operation will begin tomorrow morning, along with a full inspection of the pitches and goals to assess the extent of any damage.
“We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to all the volunteers who have dedicated their time over the past few days and nights. Your commitment, vigilance, and willingness to go above and beyond for the club are greatly appreciated.”
The Sun has contacted Norfolk for comment.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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