Scrap metal thieves are stealing dreams
Reporter: by Jennifer Hollamby
Date published: 20 August 2008
OFF the rails . . . Anthony Pauls with the uprights where the stolen railing once stood
PLANS to revamp Royton football club’s Glebe Street grounds have been kicked into touch after thieves made off with three and a half tons of metal fencing.
The 250 feet length of fencing panels were snatched from a storage yard in New Coin Street, Royton, where they were being kept until the club could raise enough cash to get them erected around their pitch in Shaw.
The theft will cost the amateur club dear, with the price of replacing the panels estimated at £6,000.
It also leaves ambitious plans to makeover their ground in tatters, with only half of the ground fenced and no more metal left to finish the job.
Club chairman Gary Leeming said: “Every time we got ready for a match we find the pitch was littered with hypodermic needles and broken glass, so we worked really hard to raise £8,000, which paid to fence half the ground.
“We then managed to get some fencing for the rest, but had to store it, until we raised enough money to get it put it up. Now it has all been taken.”
The club, which plays in the Manchester League premier division, has a strong local following and its website has enjoyed 40,000 hits in the last 18 months.
Mr Leeming added: “It costs us £12,000 plus a year to keep the club running. We were lucky to get the second part of the fencing cheap, because it was second hand, and we won’t find be able to find a deal like that again.
“We are gutted. You think you are getting somewhere with improving the club and then you have to start all over again.”
The club is now pinning its hopes on a grant from the council or help from local businesses to help get its improvement programme back on track.
If any councillors or businesses think they might be able to come to the club’s aid, they are asked to call Gary on:07812 739 985 or visit the website on:www.roytontown.co.uk.
Railings loaded on to lorry in middle of night
A GANG of thieves stole up to a synthetic pitch in the middle of the night to saw off and pilfer a set of steel railings.
The 25 metres of railings at Chapel Road synthetic pitch, Hollinwood, will be worth around £100 in scrap value to them — but will cost £500 to replace.
The thieves used a flat bed truck to carry away their haul after striking at the Oldham Community Leisure facility at 3am on Friday.
It was captured on CCTV, which is being studied by police.
The railings were on the left-hand side of a ramp that leads on to the pitch and only their uprights have been left.
Manager Anthony Pauls said: “It was a smooth operation, they must have done it somewhere else before. It’s just incredible that someone would have the nerve to do it. It’s a shame that we will have to spend a lot of money to replace it.
“We have a repairs fund but we would sooner be spending it on the changing rooms and things like that.”
Soaring scrap prices have led to a spate of metal thefts, particularly copper, across the country.
