Joyriders who ruined pitches at Lancaster Cricket Club slammed

Volunteers at the club discovered the damage to the outfield and junior kids pitches on Tuesday morning and reported it to police.

First team captain Ben Simm, who has been involved with the club for 30 years, said: “It was last night at some point. It’s just unreal that somebody wants to do that especially with the amount of volunteer hours put in at the club.

“It’s sickening to be honest. Some people spend 40 plus hours a week to help out so it’s more disappointing for them and the kids.

“It’s going to be harder as to where they can play.

“I hope it’s just an isolated incident of someone taking a car and going out in it.

“It may be joyriders who might have gone out to mess around.

“At the weekend there were games due which are going to have to be moved.

“It will be a substantial cost to repair as we need to make sure it is right for the cricket season.

“Some bits of the turf will have to be relaid to ensure it ends up flat.

“We’ve had a few other incidents of vandalism, such as the outfield mower being set on fire and signs being ripped off. It does get a bit frustrating but we’ve got CCTV which will hopefully capture the car registration.”

Police said they had had a report of damage caused to the cricket pitch at Lancaster Cricket Club by a vehicle late on Monday night.

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting reference number 281 of January 3.