VANDALS have damaged part of a £19,000 new practice area at a cricket club in Bradford, leaving club officials doubly shocked.

Members of Clayton Cricket Club were contacted this morning about the damage to the retractable cage and netting installed last summer as part of a new all-weather facility.

Martin Hodgson, development officer at the club, told the Telegraph & Argus that while they were left shocked at the vandalism, which has bent the metal frame, it must have been a group ignoring the coronavirus lockdown rules that were responsible.

He estimated that should the metal frame be irreparable it would cost the club around £4,000 to completely replace it.

"It takes three of us to pull the net out, so we know it wasn't done by a single person as it's far too heavy.

"Whoever it was must have been breaking the lockdown protocols in order to cause this kind of damage.

"We have found beer cans in the same area recently, so it seems like a group have been using our grounds to gather in an evening."

He added that the police had given club officials permission to dispense with the rules around social distancing in order to make the frame safe, which they are hoping to do tonight night.

Mr Hodgson said it was particularly frustrating as it had taken the club, which plays at The Avenue, around two years to get the funding for the new facility in place, with lots of hard working having gone in to making it a reality.

He added that as the practice area was only completed at the end of last summer it had only been in use for around ten sessions before the end of last season.

What is more, cricket clubs are currently facing an uncertain future, along with other local sports clubs, as the 2020 season is on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"We currently have no revenue, no subscriptions or money coming in on match days through the bar. The league has been postponed until June at least, but it may be that we don't play at all this year.

"This couldn't have happened at a worse time," he said.

He did add though that Sport England had already emailed the club in the light of the coronavirus outbreak and informed them that the remaining funding they had to create an artificial wicket on the edge of the grass square, could be used to keep the club alive in these difficult circumstances.

He added that there were also other possibilities that may help them keep afloat, such as support from the England and Wales Cricket Board which has just announced a multi-million pound package of support to help cricket withstand the financial impact of coronavirus.

The plans include a number of measures for the whole sport from elite to grassroots, with local cricket clubs expected to be offered support to see them through the coming months.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: "Police are investigating a report of criminal damage which is alleged to have occurred overnight.

"Anyone with information which may assist is asked to contact police on 101 or use the contact options on the West Yorkshire Police website. The crime reference is 13200164295.

"Information can also be reported anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers."