Vandals target Portsmouth-based football club once again

Baffins Milton Rovers had been due to host Bournemouth Poppies in a Wessex League Premier Division fixture yesterday.

But the game was postponed after vandals broke into the PMC Stadium overnight on Thursday and caused damage to the changing room area.

The rooms were left without hot water for showers, resulting in the game being postponed.

Though there are CCTV security cameras around the clubhouse at the ground, there are none down near the changing rooms.

It was the second time in recent years that Baffins, whose ground is just off the Eastern Road and not near any housing, have suffered from vandalism.

In March 2020 thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused after vandals used a tractor to smash through stadium fencing before digging up the pitch.

That incident came just before the first national lockdown was imposed, meaning all Baffins’ remaining games of the 2019/20 season were cancelled. Had the pandemic never happened, the club - already well behind on their fixtures due to a flurry of postponements due to wet weather - would have had to play all their remaining games away.

The damage in the latest vandalism attack has been mended in time for Moneyfields to host Hastings United in the third qualifying round of the Women’s FA Cup today.

And the PMC Stadium is due to host a mouthwatering fixture this coming Wednesday when Baffins host Portsea Island rivals Moneyfields in the Wessex League.

The corresponding fixture last season, which Baffins won 2-0, attracted a crowd of 503 - a Baffins home Wessex League record crowd.