The likes of them won't stop us Chair

The chairman of Tullamore Town FC has advised local sport clubs to review their security after thieves made off with thousands of euros of ground-keeping equipment from Leah Victoria Park on Sunday night/Monday morning.

“They cut the chain on the gate and came in, came around the back to the storage shed and burst open the doors with a sledge hammer or something,” an angry Tullamore Town chairman Billy Martin told the Offaly Independent.

All of the club’s equipment used for maintaining its ground was stolen in the raid including a ride-on lawnmower, two push lawnmowers and two strimmers.

The thieves also stole 300 litres of diesel from a tank, as well as 20 practice balls belonging to the club’s youth teams.

“We are just discovering other little things that have to be replaced like grease guns, all our forks, shoves, spades, anything that we use to maintain the pitch, everything was fleeced. They were that mean that they took the wheel of the wheel barrow and left the rest,” Mr Martin said.

“We are all volunteers up here. It’s heartbreaking. We are now going to have to wait for the insurance to be sorted to try and get stuff back. Thank God they didn’t get into the main building, which is alarmed.”

Tullamore Town FC is one of the largest sporting clubs in the county with over 20 teams. In its current home, Leah Victoria Park, for the past eight years, Mr Martin says that this is the first time that the club has been broken into.

Praising the gardai for their speedy response and advice, he advised other sporting clubs in the area to review the security at their grounds.

“We give the facility to the schools for free, the Special Olympics come up here on Monday nights, we try and do as much as we can for the community.

“We open up the ground to everyone and then this comes along and you get hammered,” Mr Martin added.

“We have eight games this weekend. The likes of them won’t stop us. They’ll cost us money but we’ll go on,” he vowed.

Tullamore Gardai have launched an investigation into the break-in. If anyone has any information relating to the incident call 057 93 27600.