It was bad enough when Storm Frank flooded their football facilities.
But now, the enthusiastic players at Turriff United youth football club have suffered a further setback with the theft of their new training equipment.
The youngsters had raised funds to purchase three six-foot training mannequins to practice free-kicks and attacking drills, but they have been left devastated after the items were stolen.
The equipment, which coaches have estimated cost about £100 to purchase, went missing at the end of last month.
But Gina Taylor, the club’s secretary, said club officials had just assumed it had been borrowed by someone else at the organisation.
It was not until Friday that the alarm was raised and the theft was reported to police.
The club has now appealed for people with information to contact the authorities.
Ms Taylor said: “They’re quite large. There are three of them altogether and they are bright yellow.
“If someone was walking down the street with them, it would be quite obvious – even getting them in the car would be quite difficult.
“All the coaches have access to the shed, and everyone just thought the other one had borrowed them, but it’s come to light that no one has them.
“We had to work for these. We had been fundraising for them, so it is disappointing that we’ve just bought them and now someone has walked off with them.”
Ms Taylor added that the mannequins, which were shared across age groups at Turriff United, had only been used “a few times” before they were taken.
Pitches at Turriff United’s ground at the Haughs were left underwater in January following severe storms.
Club officials and supporters helped clear the debris in the following days, but not in time to save Highland League games which had to be rescheduled.
