Cricket club chiefs say their financial situation is close to breaking point after being burgled twice in a week.

Thieves broke into Accrington Cricket Club by smashing a hole in the back wall of the club before fleeing with a safe and alcohol.

To add insult to injury they even made off with a hard-won trophy earned by the Lancashire League club.  Fed up chairman Rod Kenyon, said it was the fourth time in as many months that the club has been burgled or vandalised.

Rod, 67, said the Thorneyholme Road club was just hanging on financially, despite currently being runaway league leaders.

He said: “It has been a horrendous month. You don’t expect them to go through the back wall. We have CCTV at the front.

“They also leave damage and destruction behind. We are just hanging on and considering whether we can now sign a professional player next season and have to now look at cutting back on ground maintenance.

“And a Lancashire League trophy, the Colne Trophy, which we won at the start of the season is gone. If anyone spots it we would like to get it back. It’s not worth a lot but we’ll treat people to a day at the cricket if they find it.”

The break-ins were discussed at a meeting at the club on Tuesday night. Club president David Lloyd,  who attended the meeting, said he expected the perpetrators to be caught.

He said: “The people doing this are absolute toerags. You are not talking about the Great Train Robbery.  We have got great facilities and the lads train so hard. But we have been plagued by vandalism.”

Hyndburn Police Inspector Catherine Platt said the club was broken into between 11pm on Wednesday, July 24 and 8.25am on Thursday, July 25.

She said: “The club on Thorneyholme Road has been broken into twice in the past week. It was also targeted on Thursday, July 18.

“With it being quite isolated they have had time to steal the safe and bottles of alcohol on the second occasion.

“If anyone has any information about the burglary or has any information about any suspicious activity in the area then I would urge them to contact us on 101 quoting log number LC-20130725-0319.”