'Sickening' vandals attack football club pavilion in Tain as community club St Duthus describes mindless act as 'like a slap in the face'
A "sickening" act of vandalism just weeks before the beginning of the football season has left an Easter Ross club facing a significant repair bill.
The senseless act is believed to have taken place on the evening of Friday July 15 at St Duthus football club pavilion, situated by the Links playing fields in Tain.
The perpetrators threw a large brick, shattering a glass window at the front of the building. The matter has been reported to Police Scotland, who are now investigating.
The club have made an appeal for witnesses or any information that may lead to the culprits being apprehended.
The pavilion is used by St Duthus Football Club throughout the winter by its senior and youth teams.
A spokesperson for the club said: "The brick has been thrown through the window and has landed in one of our shower areas, leaving shards of glass absolutely everywhere. Some members of our committee gave up their time to come down and clean up the mess in an effort to make the area as safe as it can be. We have games every week at the moment.
"It is the last thing we need going into a new season, or any time for that matter. Fundraising is hard enough without having to foot the bill for senseless acts of vandalism like this. It's just sickening to think that there are people out there who feel the need to do things like this.
"We are all volunteers, and we work hard throughout the year to raise funds to cover our travel, match costs, pitch maintenance, facility hire and competition fees, and things like this just feel like a slap in the face. I wish people would consider the amount of people who are affected by acts like this."
Responding to the news, the club's players have started a small fundraising campaign to help with repair costs.
"Our players took it upon themselves to set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money to go towards the cost of repairing the window. We cannot thank them enough for that.
"The response to their appeal has been absolutely fantastic with some very generous donations coming in from supporters and members of the public. It just shows that community spirit is alive and well in Tain."
So far, the players' fundraising total sits at £535. The Go Fund Me page can be found at gofundme.com/f/stduthus-changing-rooms-repair.
