A CRICKET team’s clubhouse suffered thousands of pounds worth of damage when it was targeted by burglars.

The would-be thieves smashed an outer shutter and inner doors at Farnworth Social Circle’s ground, in Piggott Street, in what is thought to have been an attempt to steal cash from the bar.

The alarm at the clubhouse was triggered at 11.45pm on Sunday night, alerting a security firm who raced to the scene, along with the club’s chairman, John Barrow.

The raiders managed to damage the bar grille and the bar door, before triggering the alarm.

Two men were seen fleeing the scene by the security guards.

Mr Barrow said the club believed the shutter at the rear of the club may have been rammed with a car.

He said: “There’s a big mark on the shutter, it looks like they have broken the security bolts and pushed the internal door just enough to get underneath it and into the club.

“There’s some damage to internal doors, but by that time the security firm we used had arrived on site and they legged it. As far as we can see they haven’t taken anything. “ He added: “You don’t mind being done by somebody who knows what they’re doing, these people clearly didn’t know what they were doing. They broke the door of the gas bottle storage shed, but there’s no access to the club from there.”

It is the latest in a spate of attacks on cricket clubs in the Bolton area. Rampaging youngsters also caused up to £1,000 of damage at Bradshaw Cricket Club on Sunday night. The club had installed a state-of-the-art security system in May following a series of vandalism and break-ins.

And thieves attempted to use a car to steal a safe from Egerton Cricket Club last month while Tonge Cricket Club was targeted by thieves back in April. Mr Barrow said: “It’s just frustrating. We accept like most cricket clubs that it’s a sad fact of life. We’re just 200 metres off the road. People think we’re an easy target. We tend to be attacked, not necessarily in sequence, but quite frequently, it’s a frustration."

Anyone with information should call police on 101 quoting number 56 of September 4.