Memorial bench stolen from cricket ground near Newport

Members arrived at the Forton Cricket Club ground, in Forton, near Newport, at the weekend to find three memorial benches and two picnic benches were missing.

One of the benches was donated 30 years ago by the wife of Dennis Hall, a club president and captain during the 1950s and 1960s.

It bore a large memorial plaque and club chiefs say it will cost about £1,500 to replace both items.

Keith Williams, secretary, said: "We have looked after these benches for years and years and they have just come and taken it overnight. We are very upset.

"So many people have donated money and other items to our club to keep going and donated things to make it a good club, not just for the cricketers but also for the community, and it is just so devastating that this has happened to us.

"On Sunday we had a county game with the Shropshire under 13 girls and there were a lot of people there. They all had a fantastic time but in the back of our minds was what had just happened.

"What we are going to do is see how the funds are going and get things replaced as soon as we can. We just hope we an get it before the season is over."

Di Williams, the club's treasurer, added: "We should manage. We are not going to let them get us down. The club has got to survive and we will survive. We have got a fantastic outfield that people can sit on and we will go on.

"We think it could be about £1,500 to replace what was taken but what is hard to replace is the memorial bench with the plaque on it. That is the history of the club.

"Our funding comes through the hard work of the club's members. Once the season starts we have a lot of money going out and once the season stops we do not have an income unless we hold a social or one-off sporting event.

"But every penny that comes in really does get used on the club, we are not a profit making organisation.

"We will have to have fundraising activities to accumulate the money and replace what has been removed.

"We were not aware of what happened. Hopefully someone has seen something.

"We are just speechless. We cannot give a message to the thieves, we are so devastated. A lot of the club members are very very upset about it, including some of the ex-members who played with Dennis during the 50s and 60s."

Abbey Hartley, from West Mercia Police, said the three memorial benches and two picnic benches were stolen from the grounds between May 12 and 6pm on May 16.

"There was no CCTV or description of the offenders unfortunately but any witnesses should call police," she added.

Anyone with information should call 101, quoting incident 568S of May 18.