A number of football pitches at a Midlothian community club have been ruined after a dozen yobs on quadbikes sped onto the grounds leaving them unplayable.
The incident took place at Dalkeith Thistle Community Football Club's Cowden Park grounds on February 16 at around 8pm and was reported to police who are investigating the damage caused.
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A youth coach at the club has told of the damage caused and the impact it will have on the hundreds of kids who play matches there every week.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, youth coach James Currie said: "Last night (February 16) whilst we were training at Cowden Park, or the newly renamed Stevie Dixon Memorial Complex after our late chairman, around 12 motorbikes and quad bikes came up from the road leading to Dalkeith Community Campus.
"They proceeded to drive over our pitches doing doughnuts and tearing them up. I started to film them whilst one of the other coaches phoned the police this went on for about 10 minutes."
He continued: "We will have to relocate games that would be held on the 11-a-side pitches. Our two smaller pitches escaped with minor damage but the two of the 11 aside pitches suffered more severe damage.
"Our committee will have to discuss with Midlothian Council about repairs but as we fund a lot of the work on the pitches ourselves it will probably cost us a sizeable figure to attempt to repair.
"Made more difficult with it being winter and changes in weather could make it harder to repair. We currently have youth teams from u18’s down to our wee jags section for toddlers. We have boys' sections, girls' sections and also a pan-disability team.
"I would say the club currently have close to 500 players and a small army of coaches and volunteers that this will affect."
Members of the community were fuming over the careless act.
One resident said: "These clowns need to be locked up. Ripping up pitches means kids can’t play. For some kids, that’s all they have to look forward to."
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A spokesperson for the Dalkeith Miners Club said: "This is shocking. Hope the culprits are caught and charged for the damages."
While a spokesperson for another football team branded the incident; "disgraceful" and "scandalous."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We were made aware of concerns about quad bikes being used at Cowden Park in Dalkeith around 9.05pm on Thursday, 16 February.
They continued: "Enquiries into the incident are ongoing.”
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