Vandals in rampage at Ellesmere Bowling Club

Vandals have gone on the rampage at a north Shropshire bowling club. The damage to Ellesmere Bowling Club, was discovered by the greenkeeper on Saturday morning ahead of a match.

A memorial bench had been ripped up and put on a shed roof, beer bottles thrown on the green and a window smashed with a wheelbarrow.

Member Ted Formstone spoke of his disappointment after the vandal attack at the club which is thought to be one of the UK's oldest.

He said it could have led to the cancellation of the weekend's games.

He said: "The window is not repairable and will cost about £500 to replace.

"The rest of the work was done by volunteers. We have had minor things like this happen before, but this is probably one of the worst. We presume it was underage drinkers.

"It is such a shame because members don't like to be associated with this type of thing, especially in such a remote site.

"The building was alarmed which must have startled the vandals, but we can't keep the whole area secure.

"The police said they will try and keep an eye on the area in future but warned it is one of several they try and look out for drinkers at.

"It is a problem for them as much as it is for us."

He added police were called to the club following the incident and they took away some of the bottles.

Inspector Gurjit Singh, West Mercia Police force duty inspector, said investigations were ongoing and appealed to anyone with information on the incident to contact Ellesmere police station on 0300 3333000.

Ellesmere Bowling Club overlooks The Mere and is thought to be more than 350 years old.