Vandals' attack on cricket club
Ormskirk Advertiser - Friday 13th December 2002

One of the newly formed Merseyside Alliance clubs, Rainford, suffered from unwelcomed visitors last weekend.

Vandals who wrecked Rainford Cricket Club at the weekend have been slammed as "mindless" by chairman Paul Carter.

Damage is estimated at thousands of pounds. This, the fifth attack on the club this year, was by far the worst.

The break-in on Friday night has come as a sickening blow, hard on the heels of the club's best ever season as champions of the Southport and District League.

Raiders eluded a £1,000 security system recently installed as part of a sponsorship deal, by breaking in through the roof. Then they:

* Rampaged through the building setting off fire extinguishers, causing extensive damage to the fabric, flooring, cupboards and wall-fixed pictures.

* Smashed two fridges, one recently bought for £850, and 'put the boot in' on piping at the back.

* Broke glasses and optics and prised open dressing room benches in a bid to find anything of value.

* Stole club memorabilia including award plaques, two autographed cricket bats and a collection of cricket ties the club had assembled over the years.

The club which recently discovered its heavy roller dumped in a nearby brook, was only spared further damage because the clubhouse is emptied for the winter months.

Surveying the scene with other club members, chairman Carter said: "The cost of repairing this mindless damage will run into thousands of pounds.

"It is soul destroying when we are producing a sporting facility for over 100 Rainford youngsters, year in and year out, only to be subject to constant vandalism, and now this.

"Unfortunately such events are becoming more and more common in our village. The Cricket Club has supported the Rainford Community Action Group from the beginning and will continue to work with them to solve a very real problem."

A spokesman for St Helens Police confirmed that fingerprint experts had visited the scene and inquiries are ongoing.