CRICKET club members have been left ‘absolutely gutted’ and said they were ‘losing the will’ after they fell victim to their third break-in in four months.

Vandals who broke into Accrington Cricket Club have caused an estimated £600 of damage after they forced entry, broke four doors, bar shutters and burglar alarm system.

Club chair Rod Kenyon said it was the latest in series of attacks that has plagued the club and had made it impossible for them to expand.

He said that having to pay out for each break-in, which had left them in a ‘catch 22’ situation as they were unable to afford security improvements.

Mr Kenyon said that they would have had to take around £2,600 out of the budget for the professional team and ground maintenance to pay for the damage that had occured since April.

The club has not been able to claim for the damages on insurance due to the relatively small costs accrued during each incident.

Mr Kenyon said that since 2004 when he joined the Thorneyholme Road club as chairman that one of his main aims was to generate more money for the club for improvements to counteract a number of break-ins.

He said: “I’m absolutely gutted.

“We are all just losing the will because this just keeps on happening and it’s draining our resources to the point that ground and bar improvement projects can’t be realised because we are constantly paying out to repair deliberate damage.

“Luckily we keep all the club’s money in a secure place but these break-ins mean that we have no potential for expansion and are struggling to survive year to year.

“We would love to have CCTV but the money we would like to spend on that is spent on break-in repairs.

“I think that due to the frequency of the attacks it could be the same people.”

The burglary happened at around 11.10pm on Thursday when offenders forced their way into the property in Thorneyholme Road.

It is not believed anything was stolen although the damage to the doors, alarm and shutters on the bar is estimated at over £500.

Lancashire Police, who are making forensic enquiries at the scene, believed that the offenders made off when the alarm was activated.

They have put out an appeal to anyone who saw anything or who has any information to call the police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.