Cricket pitch vandalism slammed by community

Last week 30,000 of damage was caused to the pitch when vandals poured chemical over the grass - destroying the club's hopes of playing at home for the rest of the season. Club officials fear that the liquid used in the attack may have been high-strength, which could take up to a week show the extent damage caused. Charlie McElwee, senior grounds man for the club who alerted senior clubsmen on Monday, described the action as "downright thuggery".

Charlie said: "I was actually here on Sunday morning working and there seemed to be no sight or smell of it."

"But when I came down on Monday I could see the deterioration of the brown in the grass and from there on in it's got absolutely worse. It's really burnt into the soil itself. This whole area will have to be scarified deeply to get as much of it out as possible and reseed the whole thing."

Charile continued: "Some of the weed killers you can get are so lethal it only takes very little to do a big area. What was used here was probably one of those weed killers you can't buy in the shop, you would need a licence for it."

"It's an awful act. To me it's downright thuggery that anyone would even think about doing an act like this."

Police are scouring CCTV images from Limavady Cricket and Rugby grounds and have appealed for information on the attack, which they say took place sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning. Calling the incident devastating and deliberate, club president Bob Dallas said the community are extremely saddened by the news.

"This wasn't just an act of vandalism, this was someone who knew what they were doing," said Mr Dallas, "They were certainly hoping, and probably have, put Limavady Cricket Club out of playing for the season.

"It's a disaster financially for the club and for the cricketer, and for the people who come every weekend to enjoy watching the cricket and the sunny weather. We have already had a lot of members down here looking at it and they are all devastated."

He continued: "Cricket is a very big thing here in Limavady and throughout the North West and Limavady are one of the top teams in Ireland. "We have won the All-Ireland cup on several occasions and topped the North West league jointly with Fox Lodge. It's really devastating for the club."

Local DUP Councillor Alan Robinson, who visited the pitch on Thursday described the vandalism as "disgusting".

"I despair of some of the people in this borough. Again I truly hope that the people involved in this are apprehended and they feel the full rigors of the law."

East Londonderry MLA George Robinson has also appealed for anyone with information on the incident to contact police. A PSNI spokeswoman says investigations has begun into the vandalism.

The MLA said: "The spraying of weed killer on the wicket was a premeditated and deliberate act, so someone knows who did this. We would appeal for any information to be given to the police to ensure the people who did this feel the full force of the law."