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Metal theft plunges Peterborough rugby club into darkness
Rugby club bar manager Malcolm Carrington, left without lighting or heating after thieves tore out electric cable from two supply boxes and ripped it from the ground. (METP-09-01-12PF304) Picture: PAUL FRANKS
Peterborough Lions Rugby Club has been left powerless after the latest in a string of clubhouse break-ins saw thousands of pounds worth of electricity cable stolen.
The club has been left without electricity after metal thieves broke in and stole cable worth £7,000 from its base in Bretton, Peterborough, between 8pm and 10.30pm on Saturday.
The club has been the victim of a number of similar thefts over the past few months and now staff are carrying out midnight vigils to protect the remaining metal.
It also comes less than a year after yobs smashed windows and set fire to the bar last March, causing £50,000 worth of damage.
Today Malcolm Larrington, clubhouse manager, said the latest theft was a “kick in the teeth” to staff and players who had battled to fix the clubhouse.
He said: “We have had five or six cable thefts over the past couple of months, which has cost us thousands of pounds of damage.
“We have been lucky that we have had some replacements donated to us by Batt Cables, but this keeps driving our insurance up. The gates were also stolen, costing us £1,500.
“This is just another kick in the teeth for us.
“Now we have no electricity, which means we have no lighting, no heating and no cooking facilities.
“We have been taking part in midnight vigils in the clubhouse to protect the rest of the cables. It is very cold, but we have hooked up a generator for a couple of small lights and a small camp stove to make ourselves cups of tea to keep warm. I have been on some of them and it is freezing.”
The club now faces a race against time to secure some generators ahead of their top of the table clash with Lutterworth on Saturday, as well as looking to secure planning permission for a permanent clubhouse.
Mr Larrington said: “We want to make sure the game goes ahead, as we don’t want to be beaten by the thieves.
“We are waiting to see if we can get permission for a new brick club house, rather than the one we have at the moment.
“If we can get permission, it would make a huge difference. We could have proper security, with a fence and CCTV.
“As it is we will be looking at concreting the cables into the ground, which just will add more cost to the club.”
Anyone with information about the break-in should call police on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
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Nameduser
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 01:23 PMAmazing wolrd of Peterborough... Possibly the thieves are to blame and not the Rugby club. Lets have a moan at the Rugby club while they are down. Luckily you are not an insurance provider.
aressee
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 03:59 PMPerhaps if the rugby club did something about the temporary nature of all of its cabling and buildings the area and services might just be a little more protected. Planning applications have been renewed every year for the last 4 years to continue with a temporary building and site premises. Who's to blame then? I'd be asking a few more questions if I were their insurance provider.
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