More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Tennis club members are counting the cost of vandalism after yobs smashed floodlights, leaving courts showered in glass.
The damage to the lights at Faversham Tennis Club was discovered by players arriving for a game last week.
Painstaking work to remove glass shattered across three courts was carried out by committee members to make them safe to play on again.
The club, which is based on the Recreation Ground, says it is now facing expensive repairs.
Andy Austen, the club secretary, says the incident is one of the worst cases of vandalism the club has ever suffered.
“They are big floodlights with a big glass panel on the front of them,” he said. “It’s probably half a metre square and there are four of them.
“We’ve had sporadic break-ins but this is probably the most damage in many years.
“It looks like they’ve been used as target practice. I think it was a bunch of kids with stones and seeing what damage they could do. It’s just mindless vandalism.”
It's thought the damage was caused late on Monday night after players left at about 8.30pm.
“We will have to make a claim and our premium will go up,” Mr Austen added. “Everything that hits the bottom line will affect the membership. We have just over 250 members.
“It won’t be cheap because they are specialist parts. It will absolutely be in the thousands rather than hundreds [of pounds].”
“We’ve had sporadic break-ins but this is probably the most damage in many years..." Andy Austen
The club is considering installing CCTV but is also calling on more surveillance from Swale Borough Council (SBC).
A spokesman for SBC said: “Faversham Rec is one of our community safety focus areas, and we are working closely with the police who have already increased patrols in the area.
“We do have a temporary CCTV camera near the Rec, and if there is an increase in crime or antisocial behaviour we can then look to see if we can justify further cameras.
“CCTV is a useful tool for tackling crime, but there are clear national guidelines for when and where it is used, to help make sure people’s right to privacy isn’t impacted.”
Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident.
Insp Richard Bushell of the Swale Community Safety Unit added: “Whilst we would encourage the use of CCTV equipment, the decision to install it would lie with the property or landowner.”
Witnesses can call police on 01795 419119 quoting reference 09-0331 or contact Crimestoppers in Kent on 0800 555111.
