Fury as Gosport Borough Football Club is vandalised to the tune of £20,000

Arsonists have targeted the Privett Park club, the pitch has been trashed and the floodlights were left switched on.

Frustrated club director Ray Stainton said it has left them forking out £20,000 in repairs.

He told The News: '˜Every night there is something happening and it is costing us thousands of pounds '“ we're at a breaking point with this.

'˜They are busting down the fences and turning on the floodlights. The damage they are doing is absolutely devastating.

'˜After what's happened in the past we are trying to rebuild this club, but it's being trashed night after night.'

With no CCTV footage, Mr Stainton is having a tough time gathering evidence '“ but is determined to bring whoever is responsible to justice.

Hampshire police said it had three reports of incidents at the club, including a fence being burned. Firefighters attended the incident.

Between 6pm on September 23 and 8am the next day, the back gate was smashed off its hinges. Broken bottles were also found on the pitch.

The fire was on September 24 at 10pm.

All incidents are under investigation and no arrests have been made.

Mr Stainton said: '˜My biggest concern is that it is just thoughtless kids who have nothing better to do with their time.

'˜But whoever is doing this is taking things way too far; they're lighting fires against the fences and the groundsman's hut, leaving us to clear up the wreckage the following morning.

'˜Action needs to be taken before somebody is seriously injured, and these people need to be brought to justice.'

Mr Stainton says that the consistent damage being done to the ground is also having a huge impact on the people at the club, which is still in the process of repaying debt owed on the ground under a previous administration.

He said: '˜What's happening here is completely destroying the people who work here '“ it's having a major effect on all of us.

'˜They come in every morning and see all of this damage, so we're having to keep putting our hands into our pockets to repair what has been done.

'˜There are lots of things we want to do with the club and instead of talking to local businesses and investing in new ideas, we're talking to police officers and investing in repair work.'

Anyone who has seen anything suspicious in the area should call 101 quoting 44180361471.