A CRICKET club has suffered a spate of vandalism that has left them having to use their own funding to pay for repairs.

Earlestown Cricket Club had its car damaged last week, just four weeks after the first attack.

The self-funded club regularly raises money towards the community, however, the funding has now had to be used to repair the damages.

Karl Allan, Earlestown Cricket Club Captain, said: "They sadly drilled into it and last week the bonnet was pulled open and they pulled the air filter and several other parts of the engine off. They cut wires and tried to remove exhaust pipe too; it's so frustrating.

"We're absolutely gutted. We work hard on the ground and to make the club look nice and things like this are devastating.

"We don’t have a lot of money either so to spend the money to fix the car is a problem too."

The Suzuki was a big part of the club as it was used to mow the outfield, and featured in a recent Mow Show video on their YouTube channel which saw the club's captain answer some questions whilst mowing the field.  

The car tank had been drilled into just last month. 

St Helens Star: Several parts of the engine were ripped off Several parts of the engine were ripped off

One of the cricket club's recent fundraisers was the captain's 15-hour cricket challenge that raised over £1,000 for the club and the local foodbank. 

St Helens Star: Club captain Karl Allan completed the 15-hour challenge last month Club captain Karl Allan completed the 15-hour challenge last month

The Earlestown club pride themselves in raising money for the community, however, the damages have been costly for the team and their funding. 

Despite the incidents over the last month, the club has had positive news after receiving the highest number of memberships in years.

The club have not let the vandalism affect them, as they continue to raise money for St John’s Church, with Earlestown Cricket Club collaborating with Leap College to deliver over £500 worth of items to the local foodbank.

The club expressed their upset and determination to support the community with a Facebook post that stated: "Whilst it’s upsetting, this vandalism won’t stop us and will not deter us in our mission to continue to grow and be a key part of our community no matter who that annoys."