Non-league football club Farsley Celtic targeted by vandals who set fire to seats in the dugout at their Leeds ground

As a community club, their facilities are used by over 300 children on a weekly basis. They are also used by the men’s first-team, who compete in the sixth tier of English football, and Farsley Celtic Women. However, this has not deterred vandals.

Joshua Greaves, the club’s CEO, told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “People are using it as a recreational space when at the end of the day, it’s private property. Unfortunately, it’s being damaged for the community by very few. It’s disappointing to see. Everybody across the club works very hard to ensure things are done and kept on top of. It’s soul-destroying sometimes when we’re coming in to see what damage has been done.

“We’ve had spray paint around the club, we’re getting a lot of litter around the grounds. The seats near the dugout have been damaged, it’s just general nuisance. It’s proving to be hard work, to be honest. It’s causing us issues, the club is run by volunteers and we’re really having to keep on top of it.”

Fortunately for the club, the damage has not impacted upon their ability to host matches and their clash with Kettering Town tomorrow (October 25) will go ahead as planned. A statement issued by the club on Twitter read: “Unfortunately, we have been subjected to vandalism over recent weeks, with our ground and other facilities damaged. As a community club, we have 300+ children using our facilities every week. The police are now involved, and if anyone notices anything untoward, please call 101.”