Youngsters at a north-east football club have been left “devastated” after thieves broke into their grounds and made off with a lawnmower.
Kintore United Football Club is now being forced to fundraise for a new machine to cut its pitch in the Midmill area of the town following the break-in on Sunday.
The green John Deere LT155 was used to prepare the grounds for matches after the club purchased it 2015 for £1,600 with club funds raised by a local football festival.
Last night secretary of Kintore United FC, Craig Duguid, said the theft had been a huge shock to members, and would be a “massive blow” moving into spring.
Volunteers and coaches take it in turns to cut the grass on the grounds and they relied on the John Deere to keep the pitch in perfect condition for training and big games.
The sit-on mower was kept secure on the team’s grounds and was last checked on Saturday, January 21.
However, when club members went to check its battery on Sunday, the mower was missing.
The club has some 200 members aged between five and 16, and runs off the back of community fundraising.
Mr Duguid said: “It was £1,600 to buy it, it was second hand. As a club we can’t do without it. It is a massive blow. It is going to affect the club, it was a bit of a shock.
“We have got a membership fee for the club but we keep our fees as low as we possibly can to keep it accessible to almost everybody.
“We are going to have to save up and get a mower. This time of year it is fine, grass isn’t growing, but we are about to go into spring.
“We have got fundraising events coming up in March, money from that is going to have to go towards getting a new mower.
“By the looks of it nothing else has been taken. It is the mower we use to make the pitch playable.
“To be honest we are pretty devastated, it is one of our biggest outlays we have had.
PC Angela Dow, who is leading the investigation into the theft, said: “It’s disgraceful that vital equipment the club worked so hard to purchase has been taken, and I can reassure the local community that every effort will be made to trace the person – or people – responsible.
“This is a local club which relies on the generosity of local people to operate financially, and it is the youngsters who use the football facilities that will feel the impact most.”
She urged anyone with information to call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 anonymous. PC Dow also urged anyone offered a similar piece of machinery to get in touch.
