VANDALS who struck at a non-league football club's ground could have wrecked their hopes of advancing through the divisions.

Promotion-chasing Hartshead AFC were all set to go into their final game of the season on Saturday, at home to Featherstone Colliery, knowing that a win would seal promotion to the West Yorkshire Association Football League's top tier.

But vandals who destroyed brand new dugouts at the club's Littletown Recreational Ground in Liversedge could have ended those hopes regardless of what happens on the pitch.

The breeze block and timber dugouts - built by one of the club's players - were part of ground improvements required by the county FA to bring the ground up to the standards expected of West Yorkshire's Premier Division.

Now the club has launched an online appeal hoping to raise the £500 cost of replacing them.

Team co-manager and club secretary Andrew Lambert told the Telegraph & Argus: “It’s been really frustrating. We need the dug outs and fencing for promotion, and we had got them in place for the deadline just over a week ago.

“The dugouts have now been completely obliterated, after having rows of blocks knocked down twice before while they were being built.

“As you can imagine, we are a grass roots football club without any funding. The money that players raised to erect the fence and dug outs in the first place has been used up.”

He added that funds raised by members had been used to pay for the improvements at their ground off Primrose Lane in Liversedge and a deadline had been agreed with league officials for the new dug outs to be in place.

After hitting the deadline a week ago, the club then discovered a few days later that the dug outs had been completely knocked to the ground.

He added: “All the lads have pulled together and everybody has played their part in getting us to this point.

“The first team is second in the league and if we win our final match of the season on Saturday, we are guaranteed promotion to the Premier Division.

“It would be the first time for the club to reach the highest division in our league.”

A Go Fund Me page was set up yesterday in a effort to raise at least £500 to build stronger dug outs or a wheel-on alternative.

To donate click here.