A Kirkstall cricket team has launched an appeal to raise £5,000 after thieves stole thousands of pounds worth of equipment in their latest raid.
As reported yesterday by WLD, thieves took more than £20,000 worth of equipment from Kirkstall Educational Cricket Club (KECC) between 5pm Friday and Sunday lunch time.
Now the club has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help secure its base off Queenswood Drive, which has been burgled 18 times in five years. A spokesperson said:
“Sadly, over the last five years, the club has been plagued by burglaries and acts of vandalism; we have experienced over 18 burglaries to the clubhouse and equipment storage in this time.
“To combat these burglaries we are continuously updating our security systems and we are currently awaiting planning permission for the installation of new gates to the entrance of the facilities.
“Although having stringent security measures in place to protect the clubs storage unit, the burglars still managed to break in and we have lost approximately 70% of the equipment essential to continue to provide some of the best pitches in Yorkshire. This may result in our teams being unable to play cricket over the next year.
“We are therefore, with deep regret, asking for your assistance. Please support us in any way that you can so that we can continue to support our members and local community, providing a safe place to play the sport loved by many as we have for over 167 years.
“Help us to bounce back and prove that we are stronger than these burglaries!”
Items take included a Lloyd’s Paladin, a Groundsman Spiker, plus three rotary mowers, a strimmer and a Sisis Auto Rotorake.
KECC’s groundsman David Hodgson said on social media:
“We are a small community cricket club providing for not just cricket but for the community in many other areas including youth group, music venue, a community hire venue. In a period of about five years we have been victims of similar break ins some 18 times. As if it hadn’t been hard enough this year.”
The crowdfunder – which can be found here – has so far raised £644 in less than 24 hours.