A COACH from a Pendle canoe club has hit out at ‘immature’ thieves who stole their brand new kayak.

The distinctive red Dagger GT kayak, which belongs to Pendle Paddlers, was taken from the top of a vehicle in Malvern Road, Nelson on Saturday night.

Pendle Paddlers, which operates from Foulridge on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, offers a range of canoeing and kayaking activities to local people, including Scout and Guide groups, schools and its own members, comprising children and adults.

Jon Hoyle said the thieves were ‘mindless’ and appealed for the kayak’s safe return.

He added: “I feel particularly bad for the club as the boat was under my care at the time of the theft. Every item we lose deprives a member of our club, probably a child, from benefiting from our open-to-all policy and benefiting from the region’s waterways and countryside.”

Pendle Paddlers is a not-for-profit organisation and depends on its members’ subscriptions and grants from the local authority or national sports bodies.

All of its coaches and leaders offer their services for free for the benefit of the club and its members. Mr Hoyle said: “There are certain people in the club who work tirelessly to raise finance for our kit and this boat was bought very recently using grant money which would not have been easy to obtain.

“The canoeing community is relatively small and the item will not be easy to sell. If it was taken as prank I would be grateful if those concerned would think about bringing it back or informing me of its whereabouts. No action will be taken against them as I would just be pleased to see it come back.

“Equally, if anyone walking in the local area sees the boat dumped on the canal or anywhere in town please let us know.”

The kayak is red and about seven feet long with a cockpit for one person.

It was seen being dragged towards the Walton Lane and Leeds Road areas.

Anyone with information can call Jon Hoyle on 0776494970, or Nelson police on 01282 472604, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.