Spennymoor junior club left “gutted” after fire destroys storage unit

Shincliffe Juniors under 13s was hit by a fire yesterday at 4.30pm when the clubs storage unit, found on St Charles Road, went up in flames destroying much of their equipment.

Sara Clasper, club secretary, said the damage was a “big financial hit” to the club and has left them “gutted.”

It comes just days after the club had their defibrillator stolen from the same storage unit.

Picture: THE NORTHERN ECHO CONTRIBUTOR (Image: Picture: THE NORTHERN ECHO CONTRIBUTOR)

Pictures of the aftermath of the fire show the horse box-turned storage unit blackened and completely empty inside.

The club stored vital equipment in the unit, including first aid kits and nets for their goals.

Ms Clasper said: “inside it we stored first aid equipment, corner flags sets of nets for the goal posts, match balls, tools as well for pitch maintenance, but everything is gone.

“The pictures I’ve been sent you can see it’s a shell inside so it’s hard to tell whether things were stolen, burnt or both.

“And it comes just three weeks after we had the defibrillator stolen from the same site, so it’s a bit gutting really.”

Read more: Family release pictures of Spennymoor dad who died after police chase

Ms Clasper stressed that it would be a “financial struggle” to replace everything.

She added: “As a club we keep our subs low so we’re accessible and if we have family who have financial difficulties, the kids can still come even if they can’t afford subs.

Picture: THE NORTHERN ECHO CONTRIBUTOR (Image: Picture: THE NORTHERN ECHO CONTRIBUTOR)

“So it’s going to be a massive hit on any finances, we’re going to have to do some fundraising because when we’ve roughly added up what we’ve lost, including the stolen defibrillator, we’re looking at least £3,000 to put it all right.”

Now the club might be forced to apply for a planning application to use a shipping container as storage to be more secure.

Meanwhile, the club is unable to use the pitch without their equipment so have also been forced to hire other pitches to use in the meantime.

Ms Clasper said: “What that means is that we’ve already paid £1,500 to licence that site and we’re having to pay extra money to hire pitches elsewhere while we get things sorted out.”

Asked whether she feels the attack was deliberate, the club secretary said it “definitely” was.

Picture: THE NORTHERN ECHO CONTRIBUTOR (Image: Picture: THE NORTHERN ECHO CONTRIBUTOR)

She said: “We can’t help but feel a little bit targeted with losing the defibrillator three weeks ago from the same place.

“To have three weeks later the thing burned down and when I look at the photo’s of inside of it it’s just barren.

“The clubs called Shincliffe, because that’s where it started but our kids are from all over the place,  we have kids from Spennymoor and kids travelling all over the county to come and play for us, which is lovely.

“Things were going really well at the pitch when the season started but November hasn’t been good.”

A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue service said: “Reports of a fire in the open on St Charles Road in Spennymoor came into CDDFRS control just before 4:30pm yesterday, Monday 21st of November.

“One appliance from Spennymoor attended the incident.

“To extinguish the fire, they used one high pressure hose reel and left the scene at 4:50pm.”

A spokesperson for Durham Constabulary said: "We received a call about a horsebox on fire on land in St Charles Road, Tudhoe Village, shortly before 5pm on Monday, November 21.

“The horsebox is believed to have contained football kit and equipment.

“Enquiries are ongoing.”

You can donate to a fundraiser to help the club here

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