YOUNGSTERS have been breaking into Clitheroe Football Club to drink alcohol and take drugs in the stands, police said.

Officers have stepped up patrols around the grounds after complaints about vandals breaking in, causing damage and taking illegal substances.

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Club chairman Anne Barker, said cans and bottles, as well as small plastic bags believed to have contained cannabis, were found in the stands, with damage being caused to gates where the youths had been climbing in.

She said: “We are all volunteers and it is a kick in the teeth that this is happening.

“Kids have always wanted to get away from adults to do things like this, but when it starts to be a nuisance, it is a different thing altogether.

“The youngsters are going on the pitch and into the stands.

“It is very frustrating for all of the volunteers.”

Mrs Barker said litter including sweet and biscuit wrappers had also been found strewn around the ground.

She said she feared the problem might get worse as the summer approaches.

She said: “We get this problem all the year through, but we have peaks of them coming onto the pitch and playing football when they should not be when the weather gets a bit warmer.

“It causes grief, especially if we have just sewn the seeds for the grass.”

The chairman, who said officers have been given keys to the premises so they can include the ground on their regular patrols, asked residents living nearby to keep an eye out for intruders and to call police immediately if there were any problems.

She added: I would plead with anybody who sees anything to call the police straight away.

“The police do not have the time to go round in the hope of catching somebody, but if they know there is somebody there who should not be, they will go immediately.”

A spokesman for the Ribble Valley Police said: “There has been a recent increase of anti-social behaviour happening at Clitheroe Football Club during the evening periods.

“Alcohol and drug use has been evident and also damage has been caused to on-site equipment.

“Residents are reminded that if they enter the ground after hours they will be trespassing.

“We ask anyone who witnesses anyone on the ground after hours to contact us.”

Anybody with information should call police on 101.