Outrage as clubs attacked

By Bridget Brady
SPORTS clubs in Casey are under siege as thieves ransack rooms and put a hole in their small budgets.
The volunteer-run clubs are counting the costs of “nuisance” break-ins, with five clubs hit in January.
The latest two to be targeted on the weekend were the Cranbourne Junior Football Club and the Cranbourne Little Athletics Club.
Police have not confirmed that the break-ins are linked.
Cranbourne Junior Football Club president John O’Hehir said nothing was stolen from the rooms at J and P Camm Reserve, which occurred sometime between 9pm on 29 January and 12pm on 30 January, but the club was up to $5000 out of pocket as thieves broke the alarm system.
Mr O’Hehir said the rooms were ransacked, and the alarm system was ripped from the wall.
“Things are getting harder and everyone is watching their dollars and we’re all volunteers,” he said.
“The trouble is everyone works and with all this damage that’s been done, people have to take time off work to meet down there.”
It was a similar scene at the Cranbourne Little Athletics Club at Lawson Poole Reserve, with the rooms ransacked and a starter gun, stop watches and food from the canteen stolen overnight on 29 January.
Centre manager and coach Steven Smith said a couple of hundred dollars worth of damage was done.
Mr Smith said if someone didn’t know what they were doing with the starter gun they could possible burn themselves and damage their hearing.
Police said other break-ins at sports clubs in January occurred at the Churchill Park Golf Club in Endeavour Hills, Narre Warren Cricket Club and the Doveton Cricket Club.
Detective Senior Constable Derek Verity said police could not confirm the break-ins were linked, and said a few kids at the clubs would be upset at the damage.