'MINDLESS' vandals have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage at a semi-professional football club.
The clubhouse and offices at Nelson FC's Victoria Park stadium, in Lomeshaye Way, were targeted on Monday evening.
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Thieves stole alcohol and framed shirts before 'turning over' the hospitality suite, manager Mark Fell said.
Yesterday, Lancashire police visited the stadium, also known as Little Wembley, as chief executive Adam Keizer counted the cost of the break-in.
Mr Fell said efforts were underway to get the ground in shape for Saturday's North West Counties Football League Premier League fixture with West Didsbury and Chorlton FC.
He said: "They've basically smashed the windows and broken into three areas of the club. They stole beer from the bar area and a shirt signed by the team which won the league last year.
"They took a few replicas that we sell to fans as well. They were clearly looking for cash but we don't keep any on site. Then they went into the offices and caused a lot of damage. They also wrecked the hospitality area where we host our sponsors."
Lancashire police said they were alerted to the break-in at 9.10pm on Monday by a resident who lives near the stadium.
The Admirals are currently trying to raise £20,000 to build a new 150-seater stand for Victoria Park as they seek to climb the non-league ladder.
Mr Fell said he hoped the cost of repairing the clubhouse would not de-rail those efforts.
He said: "For any grassroots or semi-professional club, something like this is a kick in the teeth.
"We have volunteers here every day making things tick over and this is going to cost us a few thousand pounds to fix, as well as all their time and effort.
"We're really disappointed. I'm not sure what it takes to be as mindless as these people. We have got a lot of work to do."
Mr Keizer added: "It's very sad to think someone would want to do such a thing but it'll take more than this to break our spirit.
"There's been a huge number of messages of support received already, which really helps and I'm sure our fantastic supporters and the local community will rally round us come Saturday."
Anyone with information should contact Lancashire police on 101 quoting incident number 1370 of November 17.
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