Vandals threaten Cheadle Town FC
And if the devastating damage is not repaired before the beginning of next season, the club's league status could be endangered.
Cheadle Town Football Club in park Road has been left with a long list of repairs after thugs went on a wrecking spree which included:
# Ripping down fencing and using it to dig holes in the car park.
# The away team dug out has been pulled down and destroyed, the roof has been pulled off and bits of breeze block left strewn across the ground.
# Outside lighting has been smashed, as has the CCTV system and the walls have been sprayed with graffiti.
Now, chairman Chris Davies has pledged to have the damage repaired, whatever the cost, so that the club can pass its inspection from the Vodkat North West Counties League in August.
"Standards must be maintained at stadiums within the league so there's no question about it, we will simply have to replace everything to make sure we pass the inspection," Chris said.
But the community football club, which depends on most of its income from sales at the club function room and hire of the pitch on a Sunday, are frustrated at the damage done and the time and money wasted on senseless vandalism.
Mr Davies added: "We have always had bouts of vandalism over the years, but the last couple of weeks have been really bad. It's an absolute nightmare. We come back in the mornings and notice something else has been damaged - they just try to break everything. Our groundsman hasn't got time to just maintain the ground because he's always busy repairing damage done to it. Unfortunately, the ground is a little bit out of the way, making it an ideal place for these vandals to gather. But it's really frustrating, especially when you are doing something for the community and all they do is make a mess of it really.
"The thing is, all the players come from the Cheadle area, so whoever is doing this is ruining it for other people in Cheadle."
A youth tournament will take place at the club on Park Road, on Saturday, July 19, from 10am-4pm. The tournament has been organised by Inter Cheadle and admission is free, but programmes will be sold to raise funds for the club.
source:-Stockport Express