A football club’s volunteer-run food van has been broken into and vandalised in an act members say is “soul destroying”.

Michael Winfield, chairman of Woodpecker FC, said the break-in at Temple Mill Primary School, Strood, happened on Wednesday or Thursday last week (July 24-25).

The van, called Peckish, was bought by the club in 2020. It is believed the offenders broke in through its hatch.

Ketchup and mayonnaise was smeared up the walls, inside and out, while all the hotdogs, buns and about 70 cans of drink were taken.

Carly Lowdon, who manages Peckish, cried when she found out.

She said: “I was so upset because we work so hard here. We’re all volunteers and all the profits go back to the club, so for someone to do this, I took it really personally.

“The club’s lost revenue, stock and time.”

But she says despite the emotional impact of the vandalism, the team are determined to be back open as soon as the new season starts.

The 42-year-old, from Strood, wants those responsible to realise the move “could have shut this business down” because the club is self-funded.

Meanwhile, dad-of-three Michael, whose son plays for the team, said: “It’s just shocking. We’re a grassroots football club and it’s just so sad to see mindless vandalism for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

“What they may have seen as a bit of fun, for us the consequences are massive.

“It’s just tragic and so disappointing.”

The 52-year-old says the club, which has 217 youth members, has lost hundreds of pounds of stock, along with the time and effort taken to fix the damage.

The profit raised from the van is used to keep the costs low for parents and to pay for equipment and kit.

Now, Peckish, which would usually be open on a Saturday and Sunday from 8.30am until 2pm, is taking an “enforced break” until September while it is deep-cleaned, stock is replenished and security is reassessed.

But Michael is worried it may happen again over the summer holidays. He would like to see anti-climb paint and increased signage to deter trespassers.

“From a club level point of view, it’s made us a bit nervous,” he added. “We always thought this was a safe place to be, and a safe place for the kids and now we’re worried it may happen again.”

Michael, from High Halstow, said the perpetrators had also attempted to break into their storage containers.

The van is in a field next to a public footpath. Michael says a picnic bench had been moved to a nearby fence to allow them to easily climb in.

He now wants to have a conversation with the Howard Trust, which owns the grounds, to “make it as secure as possible”.

As well as the damage to the van, new shelving built by a parent for the lock-up, which was outside the container, was also smashed up by the trespassers.

Club secretary Zoe Lattimore said: “Someone took the time to build that for us and now it’s completely ruined and although they may build it for us again that’s not the point.

“We should be able to leave things on our field.

“It’s upsetting and soul destroying that we give so much time to the club and someone thinks they can just come and do that.”

Woodpecker FC organised a clean-up last weekend which was attended by around 12 people, including relatives of family members involved with the club.

The club chairman added: “This is not going to defeat us. Peckish is a massive part of Woodpeckers, not just for our home players but also for our away fans who love coming along and enjoy the food and service.

“We’re not going to let a few mindless individuals defeat us, we’re going to continue, and we are going to do our best to make sure everything is as secure as possible.”

Police say they have made inquiries but no suspects have been identified.

“Should further information come to light then officers will investigate accordingly,” a force spokesman added.