Thieves steal cash raised for The Lilly Foundation, among numerous other items, in early hours raid on Braeside Bowling Club at St Leonards, near Ringwood

A SMALL community bowling club was left counting the costs after raiders stole equipment and charity money in an early-hours break-in.

Braeside Bowling Club, off Braeside Road at St Leonards, near Ringwood, is believed to have been targeted between 2am and 4am on Thursday 12th June.

Club secretary Paul Laird estimated the burglary would cost it a total of between £4,000 and £5,000.

“We’re really frustrated,” he told the A&T. “We work hard and don’t have a lot of resources.

“It’s just caused so much disruption to such a small club.”

The offenders forced their way into an equipment shed and stole various items, as well as breaking into the clubhouse through a kitchen door.

Having smashed open a key safe, they unlocked the bar area and stole collection pots containing £4-500 of funds for the club’s charity of the year.

Chosen by president Alan Barnes, The Lily Foundation works to support people and their families affected by mitochondrial disease.

“The charity is very close to Alan Barnes’ heart as one of his grandchildren suffers from mitochondrial disease, so he’s considerably upset by this,” Mr Laird continued.

“Unfortunately, it’s a loss to a relatively small charity that does very good work.”

The intruders also stole crates of soft drinks, along with whisky and brandy, as well as chocolate bars from the fridge.

Items taken from the equipment shed included a jet washer, a mower, a strimmer and a barbecue.

They even stole biscuits, coffee and milk from the kitchen.

“They also stole all the keys, so we’ve had to change all the locks which has cost about £300,” Mr Laird said.

“We’ve also got to replace the pane of glass in the kitchen door.

“The bowling club is a community sports association and, while it’s not a charity, it’s a valuable resource to the local community.”

He added: “With about 100 members it’s a relatively small club, but it provides a lot of community facilities for the local area.

“We’re just fortunate that there was not more damage done.”

Anyone with information should contact police online via dorset.police.uk or call 101, quoting reference 5525085916.

Crimestoppers can also be contacted anonymously via crimestoppers-uk.org or on 0800 555 111.