NEILSTON Juniors have slammed mindless vandals who continually target the Brig O’Lea Stadium.

Club officials are growing tired of the yobs’ repeated attacks – the most recent of which saw a set of goalposts being snapped in two.

Broken bottles, burnt nets and cut flagpole ropes are just some of the other instances of vandalism staff have had to deal with in the last year, often covering the costs out of their own pockets.

Vandalism at the Brig O’Lea has become so frequent that the club decided to install CCTV last year.

Kevin Robertson, match secretary with the Farmer’s Boys, has pleaded with those responsible to think about the damage they are doing to the wider community.

He said: “We always have a problem with people coming into the ground. They don’t see it as breaking and entering.

“It’s one thing kids jumping over and wanting a kickabout but they come in and they drink and vandalise. We’ve had goal nets burnt and holes cut in them. It’s disappointing, as we’re the community’s club.

“When we opened up the ground on Saturday, we found that the seven-a-side goals had been broken.

“We reported it to the police and we’re now going to see about getting signs on the wall outside.

“I don’t know what the cost will be but, if the goalposts can be saved, they’ll need to be welded at the stanchion.

“The main message we want to put out is that the Brig O’Lea is covered by CCTV and, if anybody comes into our ground when the gates are locked, that’s not any different to pushing open the door of a shop when it’s shut.”

It is not just the Junior club that is affected by the problem.

Neilston Wasps, the village’s youth football set-up, has also felt the impact of the vandals’ actions.

Kevin believes a change in mentality amongst the younger generations is to blame.

“When I was a wee boy, you were totally proud of the Juniors and you would’ve defended them to the hilt,” he said.

“We’re trying to give the village a team they can be proud of and the Wasps are doing great as well.

“We were letting the Wasps use the Brig O’Lea on the Sunday and we thought there was going to be a scare but one of our ex-players offered a set of goals from his garden.

“Everything needs to be put away. You’ve got to be security-conscious and you can’t afford to leave stuff lying about because you’re spending time or money fixing it.

“We’re a proud club and like to let the village know we’re playing by raising the flag. Twice now we’ve lost the rope off the flagpole.

“Last time, we got someone with a cherry picker to fix it but then the neds yobs came along and cut it off.”

Kevin added: “We are doing our best for the club, we just want people to realise the Brig O’Lea is private property.

“By all means come to the Brig O’Lea but come up on a Saturday and support the club.”

Sergeant Michael Morganthaler, who is based at Giffnock Police Office, confirmed the incident of vandalism at the ground.

He said: “The goalposts have been damaged beyond use, with the metalwork completely broken.

“They had been removed from the storage area, brought on to the football pitch and then deliberately damaged.

“This type of equipment is very expensive and vandalism has an impact on the entire community.

“We will make use of CCTV to identify the persons responsible.

“We would ask anyone with information to pass that on to police, either via our 101 system or anonymously using Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”