STAFF at a cricket club have been left stunned after thieves broke into the building and stole a large amount of cash and stock – including the donations from several charity boxes.

The raiders also destroyed furniture and threw food around the kitchen at Richmond Cricket Club, in North Yorkshire, causing a large amount of damage.

The thieves smashed their way into the clubhouse, in Hurgill Road, Richmond, in the early hours of yesterday.

Detectives believe the incident happened at about 5am or 6am, because some of the food taken out of the freezers was still frozen when the crime was discovered at 10am.

The break-in came as the cricket club was preparing to host a Halloween party organised by a local care home last night.

Staff spent much of yesterday afternoon repairing damage and clearing up the mess to make sure the event could go ahead as planned.

Club administrator Karen Barlow said everyone was shocked and saddened by the incident, but were determined to carry on as normal. “The damage is mostly confined to the bar area, but they’ve stolen quite a bit,” she said.

“They even prised open the charity boxes for the Army Benevolent Fund and took the donations, which is just disgusting.

“We’ve got a working party coming down to clean up because we are determined we won’t let this defeat us.

“It’s a real shame and makes you feel sick to the stomach.

The kitchen is a real mess – they even squirted tomato sauce all over the ceiling.”

PC Nicola Pattinson, of Richmond police, said: “The incident has caused great inconvenience to the cricket club’s staff who were faced with the task of cleaning the club up and restocking in time for a function on Friday night.

“I am appealing to anyone who saw anything in the early hours of this morning which could help the investigation to get in touch.”

The cricket club has quickly improved its security measures and is investing in a new alarm, CCTV – and says it will not be leaving any cash or stock on the premises.

Anyone with information is asked to contact PC Pattinson on 0845-60-60-24-7, quoting reference 12110182721.