Football club's roof trashed

4:20pm Friday 10th October 2008

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YOUNG footballers are devastated after their clubhouse was broken into by thieves who climbed through the roof.

Caldicot Castle AFC’s clubhouse was again broken into by thieves who took the tiles off the roof, removed the felt and put their feet through the ceiling to get inside.

The non-profit making football club will now have to find hundreds of pounds to clear up the mess. Treasurer Joanne Adams said thieves took the payphone and the till which only contained about £2 in coppers.

She said: “We don’t leave any money in there anyway, there’s nothing there for them to take. They made a hell of mess.”

Secretary Karen Sharratt was called to the site in the castle grounds on October 4, when a passer-by noticed the gap in the roof. Mrs Adams, 44, said they tiles costing around £15 each will now have to be replaced and estimates the total minimum cost of repairs to be around £200.

She said this is not the first time vandals have got through the roof with two incidents two or three years ago. Metal shutters had already been put on to stop vandals getting in through the doors.

Mrs Adams said the club was already trying to repair the damage to the clubhouse after it was flooded when the river burst its banks in September.

She said: “We tried to save the carpet but couldn’t. We were trying to dry out the concrete floor until all this happened."

Mrs Adams said they have now written a letter to the council asking for help.

The club has to pay around £60 each week just for one match which includes the costs of a referee and the football kits. The clubhouse has changing rooms, a rest room and a small bar area.

It is used by two football teams from the East Gwent and Gwent County Leagues who are made up of a mixture of age groups.

Mrs Adams said: “We have a lot of children who play and it keeps them off the streets. They were devastated when they found out on Saturday."

Caldicot Police said the stolen property was later found in the castle grounds but was unretreivable and enquiries are ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Gwent Police on 01633 838111 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.