Devastated: manager in tears as he finds Wigan football club facilities vandalised
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Phil Ramsdale arrived at the Convent Ground in Standish this morning (Saturday April 20) to discover that specially-made dug-outs had been shattered, parking bollards uprooted and the shower block doors kicked in.
He spent a long time tidying up – including picking up countless shards of plastic deliberately thrown all over the playing area in the hope of injuring players – so that Standish St Wlifrid’s reserves’ home game could go ahead as scheduled.
And the manager is sure he knows who is responsible.
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Hide AdHe said: “There are youths who congregate at the ground on evenings and often they make a mess, getting drunk and throwing bottles everywhere.
"It is almost certain this damage took place between 8pm and midnight on on Friday. I blame the parents. They don’t know where their kids are and what they are doing.
"It’s absolutely soul-destroying. This is a good club which is doing well and it’s a lovely setting off Hartington Drive. We don’t get any money from the council or the lottery. We are entirely self-funded and whenever we get money we plough it back into the club.
"The dugouts are reconditioned bike shelters I got from a demolition site in Manchester. They were in perfect condition. Now several of the plastic panels have been kicked out. Bits of plastic from them were thrown all over the pitch. I am 100 per cent sure that was deliberate too. I had to go round picking all the pieces up so none of the players was injured.
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Hide Ad"There is no point replacing the panels with more plastic. We will have to look at sheet metal but it all costs the club. Buying a new dugout: well, they’re £4,000 to £5,000 each.
"The kicked-in shower block doors will cost another £1,000.
"It is totally devastating. When I saw the mess this morning, I just cried. I have been inconsolable all day.”
In a social media post the club has asked anyone who knows who is responsible to drop them a message.
There is also an appeal to ring police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.