THIEVES attempted to use a car to steal a safe from a cricket club.

Egerton Cricket Club chairman David Fairclough was awoken in the early hours of Sunday morning by phone calls from the alarm company and the police telling him there had been a break-in at the clubhouse.

The burglars had broke into the club in Blackburn through the back door into the beer cellar of the club at around 2am.

They had attached metal rope to the safe and tied it to the car and then tried to pull it out of the clubhouse.

It was not the first time that the cricket club has been targeted by burglars.

The bolt is bolted to the floor of the clubhouse and they were not able to pull it out using the car.

Mr Fairclough said: "They were disturbed by the alarms and they scarpered. The safe is bolted down, many people have tried and failed to steal it.

"I think the car was a Renault Espace so if they had got it in it probably would have fallen through the floor, so they were always on to a loss."

Mr Fairclough said that officers told him the car that was used in the raid was stolen from Farnworth two days before.

The vehicle was abandoned at the scene by the burglars who escaped the scene on foot.

Nearby CCTV showed five men in balaclavas carrying out the raid and Mr Fairclough said that they were clearly prepared.

He added: "The door has now been repaired. It seems like they knew where to get in and where the safe was.

"I just want people and other clubs to be aware of it."

Cricket clubs in the borough are a regular target for thieves and vandals and Bradshaw Cricket Club was recently forced to install a state-of-the-art CCTV system after it was targeted several times in the space of just a few weeks.

Tonge Cricket Club was also targeted by thieves back in April and police have been advising clubs they are being targeted.

A police spokesman confirmed that officers were called to the club shortly after 2am on Sunday to a report of thieves at the club.

Anyone with information should contact police on 101 and quote reference number 250 of August 20.

Alternatively people can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.