by Adam Williams

Police are appealing for help after metal thieves struck at Whitstable Town Football Club this week.

The burglary at the club's Belmont Ground overnight sometime between 11.30pm Tuesday and 8am Wednesday decimated changing rooms.

Club staff found intruders had broken into the ground in Belmont Road and stripped the changing rooms, showers and loft of copper piping and water tanks.

The damage and replacement cost is estimated at more than £5,000.

Insp Terry Chuter said: "Metal theft is a national problem and we need all the help we can get as it is a difficult crime to tackle.

"This incident is particularly heartless. It has ruined the club.

"We are seeing metal going missing across the area and the thieves do not care about the amounts - it ranges from skips to gates to small lengths of piping. Some crimes are opportunistic, while others have clearly been well planned.

"The thieves are audacious. Some dress in high-visibility clothing to mimic workmen so onlookers assume their work is legitimate. If you have any suspicions, we urge you to contact us and we will check it out.

"We're doing a lot of work around this and information the public provides might make the difference."

Club chairman Joe Brownett was among those cleaning up the damage at the club on Wednesday morning.

He said: “One of our board members, Bernie Thompson, came down to the ground to clean up after Tuesday night and was met with utter devastation.

“There’s hardly anything left at all and it means football at The Belmont in the near future is completely out of the question.”

Saturday’s league clash at home to fellow strugglers Whyteleafe is postponed, along with youth matches scheduled for Sunday.

But Ryman League officials are desperate for the Whyteleafe game to be played with Sittingbourne or Margate set to host the Oystermen on Sunday.

The club are waiting for Whyteleafe to confirm if they can play 24 hours later than originally planned.

Mr Brownett added: “This season we’ve had some kit go missing, some strimmers damaged and now this.

“It’s completely in another league, the other things we can put right but this incident saddens us all.

“Everything here is done voluntarily and the club’s finally pulling itself together.

“We were all looking forward to Saturday immensely as it’s a game against a side level on points with us and we were looking to get a good crowd in.

“Someone out there has completely destroyed it for us.

Anyone with any information about the burglary is asked to contact Kent Police on 01622 690690, quoting crime reference EY/002991/11, or Kent Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Those numbers can be used for any information relating to metal theft or any other crime.

If you would like crime prevention advice, please contact the neighbourhood team on 01227 868253 or emailcanterbury.neighbourhood@kent.pnn.police.uk