Vandals target golf club

OneE of the county's leading golf clubs is facing a £50,000 repair bill after vandals ran amok overnight on its course.

Staff at Broadstone Golf Club - ranked among the top 100 courses in the UK and Ireland - were stunned to discover damage to greens, a specialised green-keeper's buggy and a water irrigation system.

Police are treating the attack as malicious damage.

The buggy, priced around £30,000, was taken from a shed and driven around the 18-hole course, leaving two of the three targeted greens seriously damaged.

Club manager David Morgan told the Daily Echo: "It was soul destroying for our lads who have worked so hard to get the greens looking fantastic over the past year.

"If the buggy is a write-off the total damage caused could be in excess of £50,000."

Nothing was stolen during the attack, which took place between 8pm on Wednesday, and 6am the following morning.

Mr Morgan said: "Three of the two greens were badly damaged. They broke into a shed, stole the buggy and crashed it into a bunker.

"They also tried to vandalise parts of the irrigation system.

"We don't know what to think - was this just random vandalism or someone who has a problem with the club?"

However, Mr Morgan insists the greens suffered no long-term damage and are already available for golfers.

"People are playing back on them already because of the huge amount of work undertaken by our staff over the past days.

"We have a fantastic team here and they've done a great job getting the greens back again."

Dorset Police are anxious to speak to anyone who witnessed or knows any information about the attack.

PC Nick Penn confirmed: "We believe the green keeper's buggy was driven around the course, which crashed into a bunker causing damage to the watering system."

Call Dorset Police in confidence on 101.